Chill Air
by Kitsune Ria
Summary: When Kai is waiting for a food delivery for Tyson, he meets a girl named Key. But will getting mixed in with this girl damage his reputation as the Great Kai? FINISHED (PG-13 for Strong Language)
1. Encounter

Disclaimer: Alright, now I know what you are thinking. How am I possibly going to do a Kai fluff fiction, hmm? Well, sit back and relax cause I'm going for it! Oh yeah. I don't own Beyblade. You'd think by now they'd realize that I'm nobody and I don't own anything. Tisk, tisk, tisk.  
  
Anyway, before I start, I just have to say that school is starting soon for me and trust me! My school defines the word 'BUSY' so don't be surprised if I don't update for a while on a chapter or something.  
  
Here ya go!  
  
~*~  
  
" 'Most will hear,  
  
Most will see.  
  
Most will fear,  
  
And most will be.  
  
But most will love,  
  
And most will deny,  
  
That most can't see,  
  
The love they hide.'  
  
Well that was stupid."  
  
The young boy closed the book releasing a cloud of dust into the air that surrounded his silver gray hair. The hairs on the back of his neck began to rise as he leaned back and sneezed. The librarian sitting not too far away from him perked her head up in curiosity and then put her index finger to her lips and whispered, "ssshh!!"  
"Alright! Alright. I'm going," the boy responded in a defensive yet sarcastic tone. He slowly put the book back onto the shelf making sure it was perfectly aligned. He then turned and walked out of the library toward the crowded streets of Japan with his head to the ground and his hands curled in his pockets. 'God,' the boy thought, 'is there anything to do in this god-forsaken town? The library was my last resort but I guess I have no choice but to go back to Tyson's dojo.' He cocked his head up and smirked. 'I'd love to do that,' he thought being sarcastic. 'Training with Tyson. Nothing better. Nothing.'  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey Tyson?" Kenny pondered.  
  
"Yeah? What is it Chief?" Tyson replied with food still in his mouth. There was a short pause for a moment and then-  
  
"Where did Kai go? I thought he was staying with you."  
  
"Beats me. He's the kind of guy that does what he wants when he wants. And nobody's that stupid to try and stop, *The great Kai*," Tyson said in a sarcastic tone. ((Alright! I like sarcasm! Sue me!))  
  
"What about *The great Kai*?" said a familiar voice. Both the Teenagers jumped around only to see a boy with tussled silver-gray hair from the wind.  
  
Tyson cleared his throat. "Oh! Kai! I didn't see you there! Umm."  
  
Kai laughed and turned his back to the two teenagers still dumbstruck on the floor of the dojo. Kai began to walk toward his room when he was stopped.  
  
"Hey Kai?" Tyson asked being careful not to get angry or insult Kai. "Look, we're gonna go down the street to Chiefs' house. But I already ordered a pizza. Could you stay and wait for the delivery guy and then bring it over to Chiefs' house?"  
  
Kai thought for a moment. 'I'm not going to play messenger boy. But hey. I've got nothing better to do. What the hell.' "Sure. I'll do it."  
  
"Really?!" Tyson shouted as if he was expecting a sincere *no*. "Great! Thanks!" He then turned his back to Kai and ran over to Kenny telling him the news. Kai then put his head down and began to walk outside to wait as he saw both Tyson and Kenny leave the dojo without so much as a second glance.  
He opened the door to the Zen garden and began to feel a sea of goose bumps rising up his arms and the back of his neck. 'Damn, it's cold!' he thought.  
Kai inched out of the house slowly being careful not to get hit directly in the face by the chill air. He slowly sat on the steps leaning his back against the beam so that no one would be able to see him. His left arm resting on his leg and his other leg dangling with the wind.  
Shivering when he breathed in deep, fifteen cold minutes past until he finally heard the sound of footsteps approaching the locked entrance of the dojo. He sat quietly trying to hear who or what was at the entrance, but the howling wind made it impossible to hear anything. Still, he listened. He was able to hear a soft mumble over the wind, but the voice he heard wasn't that of a delivery *boy*, it was that of a delivery *girl*.  
  
"Argh! Locked again," the girl whispered to herself. "Sometimes I think Tyson forgets when he orders food since he orders so fucking much of it."  
  
Not only did Kai begin to laugh at how much she was right about Tyson, but he was a bit shocked to hear her swear. He had never heard a young girl swear before. He slowly began to rise out of his position to unlock the gate for the girl but he was cut short dead in his tracks by what happened next.  
As he was getting up, he heard the girl whisper to herself, "Oh well. I guess I have no choice." He heard her feet leave the ground and next thing Kai knew, he was looking up at the top of the gate where the girl stood her white skirt and black turtle neck sweater flapping in the wind. 'What?!' Kai thought to himself. 'That gate must be ten feet tall! How could she jump that high?' Suddenly, the girl looked down at him a shocked look on her face.  
  
She had long dark brown hair that went down to her waist but at the moment was up in a high pony tail. She had smooth lavender eyes that stared directly into Kai's.  
  
"Shit," she whispered to herself. Kai was once again startled by the use of language. "So!" she began to speak again to Kai as she jumped down into the Zen garden. "What's your name?"  
  
Kai whipped around giving her his trademark move- the cold shoulder. She smirked. "Tough guy huh?" she said. "Well, I don't really have time for the likes of you." She threw the pizza box on the ground. "Just tell Tyson he owes me $6.50." Then she turned her shoulder to Kai and began to walk toward the gate. She pulled off the wooden lock and opened the gate. Kai slowly began to turn around thinking she was gone but was sadly mistaken. She turned around once more staring at him as he stared at her in the freezing chill air. She then managed to form a smile on her face. When Kai saw the smile that emerged, everything around him suddenly disappeared. The cold he once felt was taken over by warmth. 'Wow,' he thought. 'She has a beautiful smile. Wait! What am I saying! She's just a delivery girl. That's all. Nothing more.' But his thoughts were cut short by her words as she closed the gate.  
"Hey. One more thing," she shouted over the now earth shattering howl of the wind. "Tell Tyson to leave the gate unlocked next time." She then gave Kai a quick second glance before the gate was closed.  
It took Kai a couple of minutes to realize what went through his head in the past three minutes. The first thing was how the hell did she make that jump? That's not humanly possible at least, he didn't think so. The second was the language she used. He had never heard a girl talk like that before. The girls he met either didn't say anything but were ditzy. Or tried to impress him but were still ditzy. 'Good girls' he thought. But this one seemed different. She wasn't ditzy. She wasn't ignoring him. And she wasn't trying to impress him in any way. She was just being herself. There was something about that that didn't seem to quite get through to Kai. He wanted to know more about her. He wanted to talk with her. But the third thing that went through his head was the most puzzling; the smile she gave him at the last second. Why was he feeling so weird about it? He had never felt like this with a girl before.  
Gathering his thoughts together, he went over to pick up the pizza box on the ground. He then turned and walked over to the gate. He slowly closed it behind him and looked both ways seeing if the girl was still there. He looked both ways and saw no one. He then gathered himself together and began to walk to Kenny's house picking up speed in almost a running pace.  
  
* * *  
  
"Oh! Kai! You're here!" said Tyson turning around to greet his frost bitten friend. Kai threw the pizza box onto Kenny's bed and then turned around to head home. But stopped thinking about that girl. 'She said she knew Tyson,' he thought. 'Maybe Tyson knows about her.' He then turned around to face Tyson.  
Tyson didn't realize he was being stared at until a few moments later. He turned to face Kai who was staring directly back at him. "Umm, yes Kai?"  
  
"The delivery girl," he said being careful not to say it too loudly.  
  
"Yeah, what about her?"  
  
"Well, she told me to tell you that you owe her $6.50. And not to leave the gate locked when you order food."  
  
"Aww, man! I totally forgot!" He paused. "It's kind of weird, actually. I always leave the gate locked but she always gets through anyway," Tyson looked up at Kai. "Did you open it for her?"  
  
"Yeah," Kai lied. "But anyway, who is she?" Kai said his eyes becoming a little thinner.  
  
"Oh! That's just Key," Tyson said understanding that what he had said didn't help Kai much. "I don't remember her real name. It was too hard to pronounce so everyone just calls her Key." Kai listened as hard as he could but this wasn't helping.  
  
"Where does she live?" Kai asked with determination and hope that Tyson would give him a helpful answer this time.  
  
"Over in the woods on the edge of town. She lives by herself." As Tyson said this, Kai began to feel is heart sink.  
  
"No parents?"  
  
"Nop. No one actually knows where they are. She just showed up in town one day when we were little and started her own restaurant at the age of four! She doesn't have any help or anything. She does everything herself. She cooks, she delivers, she cares for her home, and she does everything without help from anyone. Some say she even built her house by herself!"  
  
Kai paused for a while. And then he spoke up, "Does she go to school?"  
  
Tyson pondered this question for a while. "Not that I know of. She taught herself I think. But she's really smart! Probably smarter than Kenny!"  
  
Kenny whipped around in his chair. "Hey!"  
  
Kai then stopped to think while Kenny and Tyson were arguing. 'She does everything on her own. No help. From anyone. No one. Wouldn't she be lonely? It sounds like she doesn't have any friends. I've got to find her. I've got to talk to her. I've got to do something!' "Tyson!"  
  
"Yeah, dude?" he said, startled by Kai's sudden need to shout.  
  
"Where is her restaurant?"  
  
"Oh. Umm, I think its a couple blocks that way," he said pointing north. Without questioning what the restaurant was called, Kai turned around and ran to Key's restaurant.  
  
At first Kai had no idea what he was doing. 'It's not like I care or anything,' he thought. 'But if I don't care than why am I running to her restaurant? Stop feet! Stop!' But as much as Kai wanted his feet to stop and go back, they didn't. He kept on running. Not to the restaurant, but to Key.  
  
~*~  
  
What did you guys think?  
  
I know it's pretty bad but please R+R! I like criticism! Really! I do! I know. I have no life. Oh well!  
  
o(^-^)o  
  
Thanx a many!  
  
Kitsune Ria 


	2. Understood?

Disclaimer: (see last chapter) since only one person reviewed the first chapter I'm gonna hafta admit that it's not the best story in the world. But hey, whose is? ^-^ (don't answer that)  
  
Also, I just hafta ask: Is it pathetic if I've memorized the Cyborg 009 ending theme when I didn't even get the lyrics from anything online? Just out of memory? I guess it is. Oh well! I'm pretty pathetic anyway! SCORE! I'M PATHETIC!!! WOOHOO!!!  
  
Ok. Not going to freak you out anymore. Here you go.  
  
~*~  
  
'This is- odd,' Kai thought to himself as he stood outside the restaurant that supposedly was Key's. It was a red bricked building with all the qualities of a French dining restaurant on the outside but as he looked in the window, it looked like any old noodle shop you'd find in Japan. He looked up to see the banner of the restaurants name flapping wildly in the wind. He could barely make out what it said because it was moving so quickly. He managed to see the words, 'Higashi Kaze' on the banner. 'Huh,' he thought to himself with interest. 'East Wind. Who would name a restaurant, east wind?'  
  
He suddenly stopped and thought to himself as the wind began to calm down and become slightly warmer. 'What am I doing here? I have no reason to see this girl. And even if I did, what would I say to her? *oh! Hi miss! You seemed interesting. So I ran three blocks to get here and talk about nothing.* Ha! That would be a great conversation.' He then put his hands in his pockets and turned to walk slowly back to Tyson's house. 'Sometimes I don't know why I think the things I do.'  
  
* * *  
  
"LET IT RIP!!!" Max shouted, releasing his Draciel onto the dusty ground of the Zen garden. Tyson had called an emergency practice to be held at his house as the Blade breakers would be getting ready for their next tournament.  
  
"Good move, Max!" Kenny shouted over the spinning of the beyblade which had just dodged a very large wooden block.  
  
"Yeah!" shouted Rei. "With this team, and our new skills, we're gonna win that tournament for sure!"  
  
"You said it!" Tyson replied. "Hey guys, why don't we take a break. I ordered some food!"  
  
Kai froze at these words. Then Max spoke up, "Great! I'm beat. I could use some food!"  
  
"You could always use some food," said Rei.  
  
"Not as much as Tyson!" Kenny replied pointing to Tyson.  
  
"Okay! So I like eating!" Tyson shouted over Max, Kenny and Rei's laughter. "You got a problem with that?"  
  
Kai suddenly spoke up out of no where. "Who's delivering the food?"  
  
Everyone stopped and looked at Kai with puzzled looks. "I dunno," Tyson said breaking the awkward stare. "I ordered it from Higashi Kaze. So, I'm assuming it's Key. Why so important?"  
  
The funny thing was, Kai said to himself that exact same question. "Nothing," he responded in his usual dull yet cold tone of voice.  
  
"Whatever," Tyson said not caring about Kai or what he thinks. He gave up on trying about a year ago. "It's amazing really," he said while everyone except Kai stared at him. "Key is only fourteen year old and already she has her own restaurant, her own house, her own everything! She's totally on her own."  
  
"Sounds a bit lonely to me," Rei said listening with interest, but he wasn't the only one.  
  
"What kind of food does she make?" Max said out of the blue. Everyone except Kai fell over.  
  
"How can you think of food when we're talking about a lonely girl?" Kenny said.  
  
"I'm hungry ok?!" Max nearly shouted back to Kenny.  
  
"Anyway," Tyson said trying to make sure Max didn't yell at Kenny anymore than he was. "She can make any kind of food. Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, French, American, you name it and she'll make it!"  
  
"Sounds cool," Max said. "Is she pretty?" Once again, everyone except Kai, fell over.  
  
"Can you keep one serious topic?! Or does it always have to change to girls or food?!" Kenny shouted close to strangling Max but Tyson broke the silence.  
  
"Very pretty. But don't tell her I said that. She can pack a punch! I learned the hard way one time when I didn't pay her for a month. I don't think the bruise on my stomach ever went away."  
  
They all pondered for a second in silence thinking about what Tyson said. Max looked around and saw Kai.  
  
"Woah!" Max said in surprise as he looked directly at Kai.  
  
"What is it dude?" Tyson replied.  
  
"Kai!" Max said pointing to his face. "He's blushing!"  
  
"What?!" Tyson said as they all whipped around to see if the impossible was true. "Woah! You're not kidding!"  
  
It was true. Kai was blushing for some strange reason. After Tyson said that she was pretty, he just became inflamed in red on his cheeks. 'Why am I doing this?' Kai thought to himself. 'I don't like her! Why am I blushing?! I've never done this before!'  
  
Kai turned to face everyone who was staring directly at him. "It's nothing. I'm just feeling hot, that's all."  
  
Tyson began to tease back, "oooo! Does *The Great Kai* have a wittle cwush on wittle old Key?" Everyone but Kai began to laugh as Tyson continued to harass Kai about his now clenched fists and crimson cheeks. But that wasn't because of a crush or being hot. That was out of pure fury.  
  
Kai suddenly jumped up from his seating position and grabbed Tyson by the collar. He held Tyson up to the wall with his right hand as his left was far behind his head, ready to destroy Tyson's face. Kai leaned in and whispered to Tyson before letting him go and stomping off, "I do not like her, and you would be smart to not make fun of me, understood?"  
  
"Understood," Tyson spat back, trying to get free from Kai's tight grip on his own collar.  
  
* * *  
  
They all stood around waiting and waiting for the food to come. It seemed like time had slowed down but just for them.  
  
"Man!" shouted Max. "How long has it been since you called the restaurant? It seems like eternity!"  
  
"Uh, Max?" Tyson said. "It's only been ten minutes."  
  
"That's too long!" No sooner did Max say that in almost a screaming tone, was there a knock on the gate. Tyson got up out of his seat to go over to the entrance and let the delivery girl in while Kai came out and leaned against the beam as he had been doing when he first met Key.  
  
Tyson opened the gate and a young girl walked in with a food bag in her hand. Kai briefly glanced at Key.  
  
She was a bit different than yesterday. Today she had a short sleeve T-shirt with sweat shorts and her hair was down. She also had white sneakers on which made her look a little on the male side. She didn't seem to be wearing very girl-type clothing. In fact, she seemed to be wearing comfortable clothes.  
  
"Hey Ke-"  
  
"Don't you 'Hey Key' me, Tyson!" she shouted at him. "You know darn well that you have not paid me back in over a week! And trust me! You go through more food in a day than an elephant does in a year!"  
  
The others began to chuckle under their breathe as Tyson tried to speak, "Look, Key, I can explain,"  
  
"Don't bother!" she shouted back. "Just pay me now or I can give you a brother to go along with your little friend on your stomach! Hmm?" she said raising her fist into Tyson's face. Kai watched all of this happen so slowly. He stared at Key the whole time. 'Why would Tyson upset her? Why I outta teach him a less- wait! What am I saying? I'm not on her side or anything! Am I?'  
  
Key turned to the rest of the group as soon as she was done threatening Tyson and he had run off to get his wallet. Her hair was wildly displayed after letting out her fury on Tyson. She slowly started to form a warm smile. Kai began to melt. 'My god,' he thought. 'She's so beautiful. She doesn't have any make-up or fancy clothes or anything and she's still beautiful.' He paused, still staring at Key. 'ARG! Why do I feel these emotions? I don't like her! At least I don't think so. No! I definitely don't like her! I don't! I know I don't!' "I don't!"  
  
All eyes turned on Kai for the sudden out burst. All eyes, including Key's. She began to walk over to where Kai was sitting as Kai began to feel his heart race.  
  
"Do I know you?" she said, still having the smile on her face. Kai stayed silent as he just stared at her face. "Are you sure you're alright?" She asked him. He still wouldn't move. He wanted to say something- anything, but nothing came out. Finally she made it so that he had to answer. "My name is Key. What's your name?"  
  
"K-k-Kai. Kai," he stuttered out. Key just smiled while the others looked in awe as they had never seen Kai stutter before.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Kai," she said. She then paused for a moment. "Oh! You were the kid from yesterday! The one who waited for my delivery! Right?"  
  
"Ye-yeah. Th- tha- that's me," He sputtered out again.  
  
"There's no need to be afraid," she said as she knelt down and held his hand. Kai felt like he was going to melt right then and there. But then he saw the others staring at him wondering what was going on. He hesitated and pulled his hand away. "I don't need your help," he spat back at her. "And I especially don't need your sympathy, Key."  
  
She looked at Kai's face in horror. Then her face just turned to angry and irritated as Tyson began to walk in. "Fine!" She said staring at Kai. "I don't need to waste my time with someone who won't even listen to me. What's the point of being nice if this is what I get for it." She stomped off and walked out of the Zen garden.  
  
"Wait!" Tyson shouted. "You forgot your money!" He paused for a moment just to see if she would come back. She didn't. "Fine," Tyson shrugged. "But if she says that I didn't pay her, than you all are my witnesses," he said pointing to everyone. "I tried. I really did."  
  
Kai then got up and walked out of the Zen garden to his room, shaking and realizing what he just did.  
  
~*~  
  
HA HA!!! I'm evil!!! Muahahahaha!!! Sorry.  
  
Anyway, just wanted to say sorry this chapter is so short. The next chapter is too long to fit into this one so I decided to stop it at this moment. Hope ya don't mind!  
  
o(^-^)o  
  
Thanx a many!  
  
Kitsune Ria 


	3. Snow arrow

Disclaimer: (see last chappie) Hiya everybody! I don't have much to say except that Princess Meru should shut up! Just kidding, Melissa. You see, when I went to Cape Cod for two weeks, my dad taped Cyborg 009 (even though I've already seen all of them) and YuYu Hakusho (thinking that they were going to continue it but I was sadly mistaken) so now I have nine hours of anime on tape! YAY! You can bet I've watched it already. Hehehe. But it's really quite amazing how too much Anime can really rot your brain! *twitches* Not that it effected me or anything!  
  
Oh yeah. Sorry if I go ooc. This is my first time so just bare with me.  
  
Ok. Sorry to freak you out.  
  
Again.  
  
Here! ^-^  
  
~*~  
  
It was the middle of the night and everyone had gone to sleep. Kai shared a room with Rei while Max and Kenny shared Tyson's room. They were all out like a light. Or so it seemed.  
  
Kai had been up all night trying to figure out why he was so mean to Key. He knew it had something to do with the glares at him from Max, Rei and Kenny and it had something to do with Tyson teasing him earlier. 'Why,' Kai thought. 'Why did I do that?' He remembered the words that she said. 'I don't need to waste my time with someone who won't even listen to me.' He winced. He did want to listen to her. He did want to get to know her. He did want her sympathy. But why did he pull away? 'Why! I'm such an idiot!' Kai thought to himself as he rose from his bed and sat upright. 'She was just trying to be nice and I shoved it back in her face.'  
  
Kai got up and went to the bathroom to rinse his face with cold water. He turned the faucet off and looked into the mirror, his face still dripping wet. He looked out the window on his left only to see the snow that was blowing around everywhere like a dance. 'Snow?' he thought to himself. 'Why would it snow?' With the constant asking of the word 'why' in his head, Kai fell to his knees. 'I need to do something. If I don't, I'll never get over what I did.'  
  
Kai gradually got himself up and ran to his and Rei's room. He grabbed his jacket off the wall and threw his sneakers on his feet without putting his socks on. He glanced over at the clock. It was 3:27 am. Before he knew it, he was out the door into the raging blizzard of white powder.  
  
* * *  
  
"What a storm," Key whispered to herself inside her small cabin home. It was made entirely of wood from the trees. All she had was her cot, a rocking chair, a pile of blankets and clothes folded neatly inside her dresser, and a fire place. It wasn't much at all, but it was home.  
  
Key had wrapped herself in a blanket and was sitting on the wooden floor in front of the fire place with every bit of warm clothing she owned. "I hope the restaurant's ok."  
  
Almost a second after she spoke, she heard a body collapse outside of her cabin. She immediately got herself up leaving the blanket on the floor and putting her socks and moccasins onto her feet to keep warm. She ran up and struggled to open the door because of the raging wind pulling against her. As soon as the heavy wooden door was opened she put her arm up to her face anime style to try and stop the snow from damaging her sight and becoming snow blind. Key managed to look out into the distance before her fingers caught frost bite.  
  
She saw a lump of something in the snow about ten feet away from her porch but it was almost impossible to tell what it was with the fierce white powder surrounding it. She couldn't tell if it was an animal or just a boulder. She slowly moved toward the heap in the snow with all the strength she had inside of her. The wind was blowing madly against her. She finally got to the heap and knelt down to find it was a human body.  
  
'Oh my god!' Key thought to herself. 'Wait a minute, I know him.' Key pulled back and gasped as she began to recognize who the body was.  
  
It was Kai.  
  
* * *  
  
As his eyes fluttered open, Kai felt an enormous pain coming from his head and eyes. Kind of like a huge migraine. He wanted to throw up. He looked around only to wonder where he was. He was in a cottage or a cabin of some sort. He was covered in blankets and sheets to keep warm and he realized his jacket and T-shirt had been taken off and hung on a clothes line directly in front of him. This just made it all the more confusing as to where he was. He tried to get up but winced in pain as he looked as his stomach. It was covered in a large bandage wrapped around tightly. "Dammit!" he whispered. Suddenly, a voice spoke up on his right that made is eyes widen and his heart quicken as he heard it speak softly.  
  
"You don't want to be getting up any time soon," Key said sitting in the rocking chair which marked the half way point between her cot and the fire place. "You took a nasty fall outside of my cabin. You collapsed of exhaustion and then landed your stomach on a large rock. You should be lucky I found you lying in the snow." Key got up out of her chair and walked over next to Kai to put more fire wood into the cackling flame of the fire place. She then sat herself down about two feet from where Kai was sitting.  
  
Kai began to speak again. "Did you bandage my stomach?"  
  
"Yup!" Key replied. Kai began to blush like he never knew he could.  
  
"You know," she began again as she looked into Kai's crimson eyes. "You could have killed yourself out there. What were you doing?"  
  
Kai began to remember why he came. He wanted to apologize to her for being such a jerk. "I, um," he started to mutter as he stared back into Key's smooth lavender eyes. "I didn't mean to worry you. I just, wanted, to, um." 'Damn! This is harder than I thought! How am I supposed to say sorry? I can't just say, *I'm sorry*. Wait. Yes I can! But why won't it come out?' "I um, just wanted to say, I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier." Kai took a deep breath and felt like he was about to have a heart attack.  
  
"Well," she began. "You're forgiven but why would you want to say sorry now? I'm mean, its ten degrees outside! Are you insane? It's nice of you to say sorry but that's not worth you getting killed over. Tyson speaks very highly of you and well, frankly, I think you are a very nice person deep down."  
  
Kai felt like he was going to melt right then and there. The last thing he wanted to do was to cause her any pain or worries. "I'm sorry. I'd better go and not cause you any more trouble."  
  
"Oh no you don't! You're not going out there! You'll kill yourself again! I won't let you. You're going to stay here and wait the storm out."  
  
"But-"  
  
"No buts! You're staying and that's final."  
  
Kai really couldn't argue with this girl and he wasn't planning on doing so any time soon. Within minutes, both teenagers had fallen asleep.  
  
* * *  
  
Kai woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. His stomach still hurt but defenatly not as much as the night before. He looked up and saw that his clothes had dried during the night. He slowly arose out of the blankets and reached out to unhook his shirt.  
  
After he had put his shirt and jacket on, he looked around and saw no sign of Key. It was almost like she was never there. He walked outside into the bright and sunny day. He looked down at the ground but quickly had to shield his eyes because of the white blinding light from the snow. As his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he breathed deep and enjoyed the peace and quiet that surrounded him. 'Wow,' He thought. 'It's so quiet. Key sure did pick a nice spot to build a cabin.'  
  
Suddenly, an arrow came directly toward his head and was about an inch a way from stabbing him in the eye if he hadn't ducked to the left at the last second hitting his head hard on the long wooden porch. 'Great,' he thought. 'More injuries. Just what I need.' He began to shake as he tried to get up. He looked over his shoulder and saw a long wooden arrow lodged in the door. It was shaking slightly with the impact. It was about three feet in length and had a blue feather at one end. At the other end, which was half way in the door at this point, was a rock; chiseled down to look like an arrow head but much smoother and sharper at the tip. Then, out of the blue, Key's voice spoke up.  
  
"You alright?" she said panting as she ran over to where Kai was. She was dressed in an ancient Japanese archer's uniform. She had her bow in one hand and her arrows inside her pouch on her back. Her hair was up in a high and tight bun. "I missed the target."  
  
"Yeah," Kai began while tons of questions filled his head. "This is your arrow?"  
  
"Yup. Made it myself. You like?" she replied as her breathing started to become normal again.  
  
"You're an archer?"  
  
"Yeah! I love archery! But the last thing I want to do is kill somebody like I almost did!"  
  
"No, it's my fault. I should have looked," Kai said. It made him wonder. If Tyson or someone else almost killed him with an arrow he'd have to kill them with all the rage he had. But for some reason, when Key did it, he felt the need to blame himself. 'Damn emotions,' he thought.  
  
"I got caught off guard," Key said as she pulled the arrow out with all her might until it finally came out with a large pop sound. "I saw you there and thought I was aiming for the target but I think I accidentally shifted weight at the last second causing it to almost kill you."  
  
"What was your target?"  
  
Key held up her index finger and pointed to an extremely small rock no bigger than a child's fist. "There."  
  
Kai was stunned. "How far away were you?"  
  
"Not that far actually, about forty-five meters."  
  
Kai's eyes widened to the point that they couldn't get any larger. He was amazed at how well this girl could arch and see from such a far away target especially in the snow. 'Wow,' he thought.  
  
"You know," she began as she picked up the rock in the snow. "I think that's twice you've almost died in the past twenty-four hours." She began to chuckle as Kai tried to form a smile. "Once for being stupid, and once because I couldn't take my eyes off you."  
  
They both stood there stunned at what Key said. Her face became bright red as he also began to blush. "Um," Key began again trying to break the awkward silence. "I, um, you'd better go. I'm sure Tyson's worried about you."  
  
"Truth is, I wander around a lot," Kai confessed. "I never really see Tyson unless it's for training."  
  
"Or food," Key said rolling her eyes. They both began to laugh. Kai never thought he could feel this way with a girl. They just connected in a way that neither Kai nor Key had ever felt before. They both paused for a moment as they stared into each others eyes. They were about six feet away from each other but that didn't matter. Key began to form the same warm smile he had seen before. Kai melted right then and there. 'I can't feel this way! I want too, but I can't! For my reputation's sake!' He quickly turned away from Key and stopped looking at her smile.  
  
He noticed the hole in which Key's arrow had punctured in the wooden door. He raised his arm and ran his hand over it. Suddenly, an idea struck in Kai's head. He didn't want to do this, but for his team's sake, he had too. He turned around and faced Key again. "Key?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Um, well, you see, my team hasn't been doing all that well lately."  
  
"You mean your beyblading team?" she asked a little puzzled.  
  
"Yeah. Well, anyway, your thrust on your bow and arrow must be phenomenal in order for it to get this far and still puncture a reasonable size hole."  
  
"I'm flattered but what's your point?"  
  
"My point is you could train me."  
  
They both paused for a second while Key tried to understand. "I don't understand. I don't beyblade."  
  
"I know, but your strength and agility in your archery skills are pretty similar to launching and training a beyblade. So, I figured if you teach me how to arch, I'll be better than ever in beyblading."  
  
"Well," she began looking down at her feet. "I don't know. What would I get out of this?"  
  
Kai paused for a moment. "I could teach you the basics of beyblading. With your skills, you should pick up in no time."  
  
"Well, it's worth a shot. What the hell! Alright, I'll do it."  
  
"Great!" Kai replied. 'This is great! I'll be better than anyone on the team!'  
  
"Fine then. Meet here tomorrow at four o'clock and we can get started."  
  
"Great. See you then," Kai shouted as he ran to Tyson's house. His feet and hands were freezing cold in the snow, his stomach hurt when he breathed in and his head was pounding. But he was feeling better than he had ever felt in his life.  
  
~*~  
  
HA HA! Fluffy stuff coming up in the next couple of chapters so keep your eyes open!  
  
Hope you liked. R+R!  
  
o(^-^)o  
  
Thanx a many!  
  
Kitsune Ria 


	4. A smile and a Friend

Disclaimer: (see last chaptaa) OK! I just saw Rurouni Kenshin (I don't own, *weep*) and .hack//sign (*weeps more* don't own this one either) last night. I think it's safe to say that SOUJIRO IS INSANE!!! Just a tad.  
  
In .hack//sign did Sora die? The real Sora. The one in the real world. I don't get it. That show is confusing sometimes.  
  
-__________- zzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZ Sorry. Tired today.  
  
Here ya (yawn) go  
  
~*~  
  
The next day went by slowly. It was supposed to be a 'take a break' day but everyone wanted the break and the day to be over. Well, not everyone.  
  
Kai sat on the porch while both his legs were swinging off the edge. His stomach had been re-bandaged several times but the pain never went away. It seemed to be getting worse and worse by the second. He kept feeling shots of lightning being set off on his lower chest. Leaning forward, he clutched his stomach in pain. His feet had stopped swinging and were now locked to the porch. The pain seemed unbearable.  
  
Suddenly, Tyson came through the front gate. He was carrying his dark blue backpack and he was wearing a dark green winter coat. He looked over at Kai who was sitting on the porch still clutching his stomach. 'I am the Great Kai,' he thought. 'I shouldn't let somebody like him see that I'm a weakling!' With caution, Kai removed his hands from his stomach and put them to his side, the pain still searing through his skin.  
  
"Yo, Kai! What's up?" Tyson shouted over the Zen garden.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Kai replied in a cold tone. And it wasn't the temperature.  
  
"I live here dude," Tyson said with a bit of confusion on his face. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Aren't you supposed to be in school?"  
  
"Oh! Yeah! Um, about that," Tyson began but was cut short by Max and Rei running up from behind.  
  
"Guys! Guys!" Max began.  
  
"Yeah?" Tyson said.  
  
"You'll never guess what's going on!" Rei said trying to make it sound important which in a way, it was.  
  
"Dude! What is it already?" Tyson said with a little bit of irritation in his voice.  
  
"There's a mini Beyblading tournament going on right now!" Rei shouted.  
  
"And it ends at six so you'll be home in time to do your homework, Tyson!" Max teased.  
  
"Shut up," Tyson said under his breath. "Wait! Are we in it?"  
  
Max and Rei just stared at him. "Of course not!" they said together while Max finished it. "If we were, we would have told you sooner!"  
  
"But there are a lot of teams that we will be competing against in our tournament too!" Rei said. ((Ok! I don't really know what the tournament is but who cares!)) "So we'd better check it out."  
  
"Good idea!" Tyson said trying to forget anything to do with school or school work. "Let's go get Chief and we'll head over there," They all began to head for the gate when Rei turned around only to see Tyson and Max.  
  
"Hey," Rei said. "Where's Kai?" They all looked around but saw no sign of Kai anywhere.  
  
"He must have gone ahead when we weren't looking," Tyson said.  
  
"But he was with us the whole time we were talking. He must still be here," Max said. "Rei, why don't you go look for him and we'll meet you at the stadium. Okay?"  
  
"Okay," Rei replied. Tyson and Max walked out the gate as Rei walked back through the snow to the dojo to try and find Kai. He looked in almost every room except for one. It was the room Tyson and his Jiisan practiced sword. 'Why would Kai be in there?' He thought to himself. He opened the door only to find, to Rei's surprise, Kai sitting in the middle of the room working on his Dranzer.  
  
"Kai! There you are. C'mon! We have to meet Max and Tyson at the stadium!" Rei said. Kai didn't flinch. He just kept putting the parts of his beyblade together under the small shred of light coming through from the window while his stomach still seared in pain. 'As much as I'd love to go to the beyblade tournament,' Kai thought. 'I'd also lov- LIKE to see Key at four o'clock.' Kai thought making sure he didn't let his mind use the word 'love' when talking about Key. For some reason, he was afraid to.  
  
"Kai! C'mon!" Rei shouted to Kai thinking he didn't hear him the first time. He walked over to where Kai was sitting and knelt down beside him. "Why don't you want to come?" Rei asked quietly. He looked into Kai's eyes thinking he might be able to tell what's wrong. There was a small glint in his eye that looked like snow, but at the same time, determination. Rei pulled away and began to laugh.  
  
Kai turned his head toward Rei who was now laughing on his side. "What's so funny?" Kai asked.  
  
Rei turned to Kai. "This is about Key, isn't it?"  
  
Kai's eyes widened a little at his thoughts. 'How did he know?'  
  
"Kai," Rei began still chuckling a bit. "You've only been saying 'Key' in your sleep for god knows how long." Kai felt like blushing but made sure he didn't. "I know you like her," Rei said in a polite smile. "It written all over your face. And I know that's where you were Saturday night and yesterday morning." ((It's Monday if you didn't know))  
  
Kai didn't know what to say. He asked himself questions but answered them quickly. Except for one, 'I don't like Key. Besides, what does liking a girl feel like anyway?' He couldn't answer that one for some reason. Then Rei spoke up again.  
  
"Don't worry. I know how Tyson and Max can be. I won't tell them. I won't tell anyone," Rei said with a smile but then it disappeared. "That's got to be hard. Choosing between your reputation and the girl you like." Kai wanted to say, 'Buzz off! I don't like her!' but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Rei got up and walked over to the threshold of the room. "Don't worry!" He said as Kai turned to face him. "I'll tell Tyson you got sick and couldn't come. Just be home before six so they don't suspect anything." Rei smiled and walked out.  
  
Kai listened to the footsteps fade until he heard the gate open and close and there was silence. He looked down at the several parts of his Dranzer scattered across the tatami. He then closed his eyes, began to clutch his pain filled stomach like he had done earlier, and smiled.  
  
* * *  
  
Key sat on her porch and listened to the bare branches of the trees rustle while she was waiting for Kai to come in the freezing cold. She was wearing something similar to what she had worn the day before when Kai saw her. Only she had an extra layer on due to the freezing cold and the fact that she had no blood circulating through her body. She had her arrow case with four blue feather tipped arrows on her back and her bow in her hand but she was beginning to shiver and she could hear the clicking of her teeth. 'Great,' she thought. 'My teeth are chattering. This is going to be a fun day.'  
  
She looked at her watch and it said the time was 4:23. 'That's it,' she thought with a little bit of frustration. 'If Kai isn't coming than I'm not going to sit here and freeze my ass off.' Just as she had risen to reach for the door handle, she heard a familiar voice. A voice she was somewhat relieved and somewhat upset to hear.  
  
"What? Giving up already?" Kai said as he made his way up the hill and through the trees to the clearing in which Key's cabin was. His stomach was now feeling worse than ever. He was pale and cold but he tried not to show his weakness.  
  
Key turned around to see Kai walking toward her on the porch but Key noticed he was trying not to limp. "Kai," Key began. "Are you sure you can do this? My training is not for weaklings and you still look pretty bad."  
  
"I can take anything you throw at me, teach."  
  
"Well alright then! Today we'll just do archery and tomorrow you can show me beyblade. Is that ok with you?"  
  
"Fine," Kai flinched at another shock in his stomach. "Just fine."  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey! Rei! Over here!" Tyson shouted to Rei when he spotted him in the crowd. Tyson was with Max and Kenny but frowned when he saw that Kai wasn't with Rei. Tyson squeezed through the crowd as he tried to get closer to Rei. "Hey. Did you find Kai?"  
  
"Yeah," he said with a smile on his face.  
  
"So? Is he coming?" Tyson said with anticipation.  
  
"No," Rei said quickly. "He wasn't feeling well when I got there so I let him stay."  
  
"Oh. That's too bad," Max said. "I guess we'll have to see the tournament without him!"  
  
"Yeah," Rei said as he looked up at the sky. 'I'm sure they're having fun!' He thought to himself as he followed Kenny into the stadium.  
  
* * *  
  
'God,' Kai thought to himself. 'It's freezing out here! I hope wherever we're going has some heat.'  
  
They had been climbing up the mountain that was behind Key's cabin. It wasn't very big but one could surly collapse under severe circumstances. Key was in front leading the way up the steep slope. She had climbed this mountain many times before so not only did she know the way but she was fit to run up the entire mountain without breaking a sweat. Kai followed behind, trying not to show the pain that shot through his stomach and the pain of walking with half his chest bandaged.  
  
"We're almost there," Key said turning her head to her side so Kai would be able to hear her.  
  
"You said that a half hour ago," Kai said with irritation.  
  
"Sorry," Key said defensively.  
  
"We're only going to be able to have an hour of training time. I need to be at Tyson's by six," Kai shouted up the hill to where Key was walking.  
  
"An hour? Why?" she said as she stopped to look at him.  
  
"Um," 'Don't tell her. If you do, she might call off the lessons.' And for some reason, Kai didn't want that at all. "Tyson wants to have a meeting so I have to be there."  
  
"Oh. Well, ok then," she said with a bit of sadness in her eyes. Kai tried not to look into her lavender eyes so he wouldn't melt like he did before. Key turned around and began to walk up the hill again.  
  
Ten more minutes pasted until they finally reached their destination. It was a waterfall surrounded by tall gray rocks. There were strings hanging everywhere with small rocks, pieces of cloth and leaves tied to the ends of them. The sound of the waterfall was pounding on the earth. As Kai approached the dirt and sand by the water, he could feel the waterfall shaking the earth beneath him.  
  
"What is this place?" He asked.  
  
"It's my training center. The taki makes it hard to hear the targets on the strings. It's good practice," Key shouted over the waterfall. She got out one of her arrows from the bag on her back. She aligned the arrow with the center of the bow and pulled back on the string. She hesitated for a moment while one of her eyes was shut to see better and then let go. The arrow bounced off three of the rocks and at an angle it bounced right back to Key. The arrow dug itself into a tree that was about a foot next to where Key was standing. She didn't flinch what so ever.  
  
Kai was stunned. 'Wow,' he thought. 'She must have known that was going to happen or else she would have ducked or moved out of the way.' Then Key spoke up.  
  
"You'll learn to do that too. Obviously not today but later. You have to always know what will happen if it doesn't hit the target you want it too. What angle will it take and where will it stop." She turned towards Kai. "Today, you'll just be learning how to hold a bow and arrow. And trust me, it's not as easy as it seems."  
  
Kai nodded. He didn't know what else to do so he just nodded. Key walked over to him and handed him a bow and arrow. She demonstrated how to hold it and how to release the arrow.  
  
Kai took the bow and held it like she said too. 'This is easy,' he thought. He then placed the arrow onto the bow pulled back, and released. It all happened so fast he couldn't see where the arrow went. He looked around at the rocks and looked up at the waterfall to see if it was up there but he couldn't find it.  
  
Key began to laugh. Kai turned to her, unsure of why she was laughing. "I'm sorry," she said still laughing. "It's just, well," she then pointed to Kai's feet. The arrow had fallen off the bow and landed about a centimeter from Kai's feet. Key just kept laughing. She knelt down and clutched her stomach. Kai was embarrassed. He began to glow bright red out of both anger and embarrassment. He bent down and picked up the arrow at his feet.  
  
He looked over to his side where Key was still laughing. And for the first time in his life, (or at least since he could remember), he laughed with her.  
  
~*~  
  
YAY! Ok, Fluffy stuff coming up. One of the next two chapters is pretty sad so get your boxes of Kleenex out. You're gonna need 'em! HA! Now I'm off to watch the 14 hour Law & Order marathon on TNT! YES!!! I love Law & Order.  
  
Hope ya liked it! R+R  
  
o(^-^)o  
  
Thanx a many!  
  
Kitsune Ria 


	5. Reputation

Disclaimer: (SLC) Ok! I'm really, really, REALLY sorry that I haven't updated. You see, school just started and if you've read my 'Nobles: Anime Style!' then you understand. I just found out that Hollie is not only my Civics teacher, but he's my Advisor!!! *ree ree ree* and also, I just finished my Pre-lab thing I had to do for homework for Chemistry (Yes. My teacher calls it that for some strange reason.) Is it a problem if you don't understand what the hell is going on in class the first day? Probably.  
  
But Oh well!  
  
You didn't come here to listen to my problems! You came here to read Kai Fluff! Well, there is going to be fluff and sadness in the next chappie. This one's just normal. So, blah.  
  
Blah Blah Blah  
  
Blah blah? Blah?! BLAH!!!!  
  
~*~  
  
It was a beautiful sunny day and Rei sat on the porch listening to Evanescence in his CD player.  
  
'My God,  
  
My tourniquet.  
  
Return to me  
  
Salvation.'  
  
He began to hum the chorus to himself quietly as the clock struck 7:00 pm. 'What could be taking Kai this long?' he thought to himself. 'I don't know how long Tyson and Max will buy the fact that he felt better and he was going for a walk.' He then put his hands behind his head and leaned back against the dojo wall.  
  
A tiny creak came from the gate as Kai walked in the threshold. Kai tried to tiptoe across the Zen garden without notice. Rei picked himself up from the wooden porch and stood in front of Kai. Kai jumped as he realized he was inches away from a person. He backed away only to find who it was.  
  
"Don't scare me like that!" Kai whispered to Rei. Rei was startled. He had heard Kai angry before. But that was a cold anger. The anger he was giving Rei now was a playful kind of anger that you usually got from Tyson.  
  
"Wow," Rei began. "You're a lot different." Kai titled his head in kind of a playful manner. Once again, Rei was shocked.  
  
"What do you mean?" He said.  
  
"I mean," Rei said still very confused at the person who stood in front of him. "You're much more cheerful than usual."  
  
"Oh. Well, I guess hanging out with Key today made me kind of cheerful!" Kai smiled and walked off in an almost skipping manner.  
  
Rei stood in awe. 'What the hell did Key do to Kai?'  
  
The truth was the fact that Kai actually laughed made his face feel brighter than it had ever felt before. Kai liked the feeling of being happy. He had never been this cheerful before. It was almost queer.  
  
* * *  
  
Kai walked through the forest and up the steep mountain. It wasn't as bad as last time but he was still a bit tired. He had his Dranzer in one hand and his extra launcher in the other hand for Key. As he made it to the clearing, he looked around at the rocks and then the taki. He stared at it for a while and just listened to the beating of the water against water. As a breeze went by, he sat down by the riverbed and took off his shoes.  
  
As he let the water run through his feet, he didn't notice that Key was under the water. He lay there with his eyes closed listening to everything.  
  
Suddenly, Key spotted Kai from under the water and popped up from underneath the surface. "Hi!" She shouted.  
  
Kai jumped backward as his heart was about to give out. He looked at Key in an angry face as he was panting from the fear. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" He screamed at her.  
  
"I just wanted to say hi," she said smiling.  
  
"Well," he began as he breathed regularly again. "Just make sure you don't scare the shit out of me again."  
  
"Got it," she said in a playful tone as she dove back in.  
  
"Hey!" Kai shouted. "We've got work to do!"  
  
Key popped back up again. "Work? I thought we were having fun!"  
  
"Well, we're not!"  
  
"And why not?" Key said as she began to float on top of the water.  
  
"Because!"  
  
"Ugh! I hate it when people say that! Because WHY?"  
  
"Because, there's no time for games!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
Kai didn't want to tell her that he was using her for the tournament that was being held in a little more than a month. "Um," Kai began. "I'm, um, not a good teacher that's all. I want to get this over with."  
  
"Oh," Key said as she sank back underneath the water. Kai then saw her stand up from the water and slowly walk to shore. She was soaked from head to foot in water while she wore her archery uniform. She pulled her hair in front of her face and wrung it out. She then flipped it back and let the light from the sun gleam on her glowing face.  
  
'My god,' Kai thought. 'I really don't want to be thinking this but she is so beautiful.' He stood there staring at her face as he gazed into her eyes. For a brief moment, Key gazed into his eyes also. But then realized what she was doing and spoke up to save herself the embarrassment.  
  
"Um! I'll be back in fifteen minutes."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I have to go change out of my clothes, moron!"  
  
Kai stood in the same spot puzzled. "But your cabin is at least an hour walk, maybe a forty-five minute run if you don't take a break. How can you be back in fifteen minutes?"  
  
Key shook her head. "Look," she said as she pointed to the Taki.  
  
"Yeah, so?"  
  
"Well, I found a cave behind the waterfall that's pretty dry. So I go there if I need to change or get new arrows or sleep if I need to."  
  
'Jesus. This girl has thought of everything.' Kai thought.  
  
"So I'll be back in a minute." Key then dived into the water again She popped out when she got to the taki. She took a deep breath and disappeared.  
  
Kai stood there, his eyes wide and somewhat surprised. He then put his Dranzer in his pocket and sat down while he waited for Key to come back around the bank to start their lesson.  
  
* * *  
  
"Where is he?!" Tyson said for the fifth time in the past five minutes. "It's 8 o'clock and he was suppose to be here at six to train!"  
  
"Maybe he just lost track of time when he was walking around the city," Rei lied trying to cover for him.  
  
"Well," Max said. "Knowing Kai, he's not that interested in anything to lose track of time. Except maybe Beyblading."  
  
'And Key.' Rei thought as he chuckled.  
  
"Do you think he's training without us? He better not be!" Tyson shouted while his fists clenched.  
  
"Yeah!" Max said. "I mean, It's ok if we let Kai slip a few practices but if he's going to train he's going to train with us!"  
  
"Chill guys!" Rei said. "It's not that bad!"  
  
As soon as he said this, Kai came into the room of the dojo and sat down on the tatami. He had his eyes closed but opened one when he realized that everyone was staring at him. "What?" he said quietly.  
  
"What?! I'll tell you what! You've been training without us!" Tyson shouted at him.  
  
Kai's eye's widened a little as he looked over at Rei in fear they might have found out about him meeting with Key. Rei shook his head as to say 'No. I didn't tell.' Kai closed his eyes and gave a soft sigh. He looked up at Tyson.  
  
"I haven't been doing any kind of training except with you guys."  
  
"Then where were you the past few days?" Max said.  
  
"I've been at the library." Kai lied.  
  
"The library?" Tyson said a bit shocked. "Why were you at the library?"  
  
"I was reading the poems."  
  
Everyone except Kai had an anime sweatdrop. "Poems?!" They all shouted together.  
  
"Look," Rei said trying to get off the subject. "I'm really tired. I'm going to bed. Anyone coming?"  
  
"Yeah." Max said. "I will."  
  
"Me too," Tyson said as he stomped out of the room shoving Kai in the process. Max followed until it was only Rei and Kai in the room.  
  
"You ok?" Rei asked.  
  
Kai paused. "I don't know how much more I can take of this." He whispered.  
  
"It'll be ok. Tyson will lighten up. So will Max."  
  
"That's not what I'm worried about."  
  
"Then what is it?"  
  
Kai paused again. "It's not just them. It's my reputation. I am the great Kai! I can't like a girl! It would destroy me!"  
  
"Would your reputation destroy you? Or would never speaking to Key again destroy you?"  
  
Kai looked up wide-eyed at Rei. Rei smiled at him and walked out of the room sliding the door behind him. The words rang in Kai's head as he walked down the hallway.  
  
'Would your reputation destroy you?'  
  
He got his pajamas on and got into his bed. He then looked over at the bed next to him and saw Rei. His eye's thinned for a moment as he looked up at the ceiling before falling asleep.  
  
'Or would never speaking to Key again destroy you?'  
  
* * *  
  
The next day at the waterfall, Key was getting Kai's bow ready so that he could use his own instead of hers. She looked over at the shade of the trees and saw Kai staring at the ground.  
  
"What's wrong?" She said trying to attach the string to the left hook.  
  
Kai paused and then said very plainly, "Nothing."  
  
"Oh C'mon!" She said. She walked over to Kai and sat down beside him in the shade. "You can tell me anything."  
  
Kai turned to her. He looked into her lavender eyes and wanted to spill everything to her but hesitated.  
  
"Nothing," he said quietly. "Nothing at all."  
  
~*~  
  
HAHA! I don't know why I'm laughing. I just am. Next chapter's going to be sad and fluffy! So make sure you have those Kleenex boxes ready to go!  
  
Ok. Blah blah!  
  
Hope ya liked! R+R!  
  
o(^-^)o  
  
Thanx a many!  
  
Kitsune Ria 


	6. Love

Disclaimer: (SLC) HALLO!!! OK! I just finished a 500 word essay (which believe it or not, didn't take that long to write) for English. Not Civics! Hollie did not assign that! I know! Hard to believe! For Civics homework, we had to actively read (kill the concept) a handout that he was going to put in our mailboxes. But he never did.  
  
Hehehe. Hollie made a mistake.  
  
Hehehe.  
  
NE way, I know that after you read this, you are going to have a lot of criticism. Especially Princess Meku or whatever. Grrr.  
  
Ok! Don't mean to bore you with my disclaimer. (Though I have read ones that are 2 pages long.)  
  
Here ya go!  
  
~*~  
  
"Hey Kai!" Key shouted from her porch. She was putting on her archery Gii while she had the bag full of arrows on her back.  
  
"Hey," Kai said in a loud but not quite shouting tone. He was still rattled by what Rei had said. He had just walked through the woods to the clearing in which Key's cabin stood. He was going to go to the taki spot to meet her there but because he was early, he decided to wait for her.  
  
When she was finished, they walked up the steep mountain together to the taki spot. They hardly said anything on the walk up. Key was daydreaming and Kai was just thinking about his reputation and what Tyson might say if he saw him now.  
  
When they got to the top Key walked over to the side to put her arrows down on a rock in the shade.  
  
Kai stood in one spot just staring at her, a question aching in the back of his mind. He didn't know quite how to say it or if Key would get offended in anyway if he asked.  
  
Key looked over her shoulder to Kai who was now staring at her. "Um," she began. "Are you ok?"  
  
Kai woke up from his trance. "What? Oh! Yeah, I'm fine."  
  
Key's eyes narrowed. "C'mon. You know me better than that. I can tell when something's wrong. Now tell me!"  
  
Kai looked over to her. He sighed and began to speak. "Well," he paused.  
  
"Yes?" Key said her eyes filled with innocence.  
  
"You know how I never listen to what Tyson says?" Kai said trying to make it as clear as possible what he was saying.  
  
"Yeah," she said chuckling a bit.  
  
"Well, you see," as soon as he said this, a rumble of thunder began to shake the ground. At first, nothing happened. But then little drizzles of rain began to fall from the sky. Very soon after that the drizzles turned into heavy rain.  
  
"We need to go!" Key shouted over the rumbling of the thunder and rain.  
  
"Where?" Kai shouted back.  
  
Key paused looking around then she caught sight of the waterfall. "C'mon!" She began to walk along side the bank. "We can go behind the waterfall and into the dry cave! But we're going to have to swim there!"  
  
"Swim?!" Kai shouted.  
  
"You know how to swim right?!" Key shouted.  
  
"Yeah, but it's lightning out!"  
  
"I know. We're going to have to swim fast. Look, when you get to the waterfall, there will be falling rocks coming from every direction. Wait until a big one hits the water and dive under as fast as you can to the other side." Kai stood in amazement as he listened to Key while his arms covered his face from the rain. "From there, the climb to the cave is about nine feet high. It's not hard you just have to go fast."  
  
Kai nodded as Key dove into the water. He then put his hands above his head and dove in after her.  
  
When they got to the waterfall, the water around them was pushing them out of the way with a strong current. Kai tried as hard as he could to keep afloat and not be caught by the current. Key was staring up to see the rocks that fell down. One of the rocks landed about a foot next to Kai. He decided to look up too and make sure no more would hit him. He waited and waited for a large rock to fall. Key spotted one on her side of the waterfall. "I'll meet you on the other side!" She shouted. The large rock hit the water and Key dove in after it and disappeared.  
  
Kai just floated there waiting for his rock to come. The lightning and rain was pouring now. He couldn't remember ever seeing this bad a storm. Well, except for when he almost killed himself by trying to apologize to Key. But the water around him almost seemed to push him up. It felt like a gun and he was the bullet.  
  
Suddenly a large rock fell from the sky and landed in front of him creating a wave of water over his head. As soon as the wave parted, he dove down into the water and tried as hard as he could to go against the current. He pushed and pushed but finally got to the other side. It was much calmer but there was a rock wall in the way. So, he climbed.  
  
The cave wasn't that far. He would only have to climb the rock about nine or ten feet. And it looked like Key or someone had smashed holes in the rocks so it was easier to climb. When he reached the top, he looked over to the back of the cave where Key was sitting. She was wringing her hair out like she did the other day after swimming. He got up onto the stone platform and looked around.  
  
The cave wasn't very big but was a good size for two people to spend the night. He had assumed the floors would be wet and cold but not only were they covered by cloth and animal hide, but the walls we dead dry. He looked around at the cave and only saw two pieces of furnischere. One small bed for one person ((Don't worry! I'm not that sick!)) and a small night stand that held a couple of books, arrows, a lamp on top, and had a rather large bow leaning next to it.  
  
Key was over by the other end of the cave so that she wouldn't drip on the cloth. Kai was still on the ground, examining the cave. She finally spoke up. "Are you all right?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm fine. You?" Kai said.  
  
"Fine," Key paused. "Um, Kai?"  
  
"Yes?" He said very plainly.  
  
"You were telling me how you never listen to Tyson," she said smiling as she walked over to the hide and sat down next to the lamp to get warm. "What exactly was your point?"  
  
Kai turned to her. He got himself up with ease, (now that his wounds were pretty much healed) walked over, and plopped himself down next to Key as he got ready to speak. "Well," he said turning to her. The only sound the echoed through the cave was the waterfall and his voice. "You don't have to answer this but I'm going to ask it anyway."  
  
"Well?" She said her smile widning.  
  
Kai paused and then just said it. "What happened to your parents?"  
  
Key's smile disappeared within a second. Her eyes were wider than Kai had ever seen them. Kai realized he had said the wrong thing. "I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have asked. I'm re-"  
  
He was interrupted. "No," she said quietly. "I knew you would ask it one of these days. Everyone does. But I never tell them."  
  
"Oh. Ok then." Kai said as he realized he would probably never hear it.  
  
"But you're different." Key whispered in the dim light.  
  
Kai paused for a moment. He turned to stare as her as he was only inches away from her innocent face. Then Key pulled a few inches away and began to speak. "You've basically become my friend over these past few weeks. I've never really had a true friend before." She said as she nuzzled her shivering body a little closer to Kai. "I guess I've got to tell someone," she paused. "I couldn't think of a better person to tell it to." She beamed up at him and smiled. Kai blushed but tried with every ounce of his body to control it.  
  
"Um, ok." Kai said as he turned to face Key. They were now facing each other as both of their hands were on their knees.  
  
Key's smile slowly faded as she closed her eyes and breathed in slowly and deeply. A few moments later, she opened them only to stare into Kai's wet yet curious face.  
  
"Ok. Well," she began as she took off her Gii revealing her undershirt that wasn't quite as wet. Kai blushed. She then began to trace back to the day, the time, and the place.  
  
* * * FLASHBACK * * *  
  
"KIKIRAKI! KIKIRAKI, WHERE ARE YOU?!" the drunk man shouted. He plowed through the forest of the small woodsy town destroying anything in his path. He had the recent stench of whiskey on him and the face of a murderer. "KIKIRAKI!!!"  
  
As the three year old girl kneeled quietly in the forest behind an oak tree, she listened to make sure her father was gone.  
  
She had shoulder length black hair that was tussled about her face. Her dirty lavender dress matching her eyes that were filled with fright. She had bruises on her legs and face. Her left eye was beginning to turn black as the bruise began to form. She kneeled down even further and clutched her knees slowly as she began to cry.  
  
'Why,' she thought. 'Why does he have to do that?' She began to get up and walk toward her house that was maybe seconds away. 'First he has that bad smell on him.' She shuddered. 'I hate it!' She spotted the house a few feet away. 'Second, he gets that awful look in his eyes.' She walked in the door and ran down the dusty hallway to her room which had nothing in it but a bed, a bookcase and her closet. 'Then third,' she thought as she sat on her bed and clutched her teddy bear close to her chest. 'He begins to hurt me.' Then she began to cry and weasel in one last thought before falling asleep. 'Doesn't anyone love me?'  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, the young girl came down the stairs and down the dusty hallway to the kitchen where she made breakfast for herself. It wasn't much, but it was good enough for her.  
  
Then silence came over her as her father walked down the hallway. A great shiver ran up her spine as she heard his footsteps walking closer to the kitchen. She jumped up and ran underneath the table to try and hide herself.  
  
The man walked into the doorway with dirty trousers and a stained shirt on. It was obvious not only by the smell but by the looks that he hadn't taken a bath in days. He had a sad tone in his voice, but began to speak.  
  
"Kikiraki. I know you're here. Stop hiding."  
  
The young girl didn't move.  
  
"Kikiraki, I'm sorry. I do some messed up things once in a while and I don't mean to but," he paused. "Ever since your mother died in labor with you I've lost everything. Everything my life depended on. Every last thing I loved, I either don't love any more or it's gone." He stood there silent. The young girl remained hidden under the table. She didn't move or say a word. "I'm sorry." With that, the large man left the kitchen and went outside.  
  
The young girl waited for a minute until she heard the screen door slam shut followed by a roll of thunder. She then appeared out from under the table. She got herself up and threw herself up onto her table chair. She buried her face in her hands and began to cry as the rain began to pour outside. His words rang in her head.  
  
'Every last thing I loved, I either don't love any more or it's gone.'  
  
'I'm not gone.' She thought as her tears fell to the ground. 'That must mean he doesn't love me any more.' She paused for a moment.  
  
"I hate him." She whispered to herself.  
  
* * *  
  
Around two hours later she ran outside as she heard the doorbell ring. She opened the screen door to the porch.  
  
Her neighbor Mrs. Connofield was at the door with her shawl over her head to protect herself from the rain. She had a sad look on her face as she let herself into the house. "Hello dear." She whispered as her voice trailed off.  
  
"Is there something you want Mrs. Connfeld?" ((She's only three! She can't pronounce things very well!))  
  
"Yes, dear. I'm afraid there is." She said as her old face began to sag.  
  
"Well, what is it?" the young girl said with curiosity.  
  
"Well Kikiraki dear, you see," she began as she kneeled down next to the young girl. "Your father has done some pretty bad things." She paused as she didn't quite know how to put it. "His life got a little out of order when your mother died and he got mixed in with the wrong type of people."  
  
The girl was trying to follow but was having a hard time. The woman spoke again. "These bad people were selling him some stuff to help him try to get 'better' so to speak. And well, when he didn't pay them," she began to fill up with tears. "They got the best of him, dear."  
  
The young girl stood as the old woman clutched her tight. "So," she said. "Is he," her eyes began to fill up with tears also. "Dead?" she whispered.  
  
"I'm afraid so, dear."  
  
The three-year old girl stood there without saying anything realizing that she was all alone. "No," she whispered but then screamed. "NO!" She ran out of the woman's grasp and ran outside into the pouring rain. She kneeled down into the rain as the east wind blew by and began to cry as her dress began to soak with water and tears.  
  
* * *END OF FLASHBACK* * *  
  
Kai sat there still having a lot of questions in his mind but stunned at the fact of Key's hard life. He couldn't believe it. He began to speak.  
  
"So your real name is Kikiraki?"  
  
"Yes," she responded quietly.  
  
"And your father died from being in touch with the mafia?"  
  
"Yes," she said again in the same tone.  
  
Kai gulped. "And he beat you when he got drunk?"  
  
Key shuddered as she turned her head away. "Yes."  
  
"I'm sorry Key. I didn't know."  
  
Key paused. She spoke up quietly. "That's right. You didn't know. How could you have?"  
  
Kai began slowly making sure he didn't invade on her privacy. "What happened after that?"  
  
"Well," she said while breathing in deeply. "I ran away from my house shortly after that. I came to this town and decided to stay."  
  
Kai breathed in heavily as he tried to absorb all of the information. He looked up at Key as she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. She moved closer until she finally broke down and sobbed right into Kai's chest. Her arms were wrapped around him and he slowly rocked her back and forth trying to calm her down.  
  
"Ssshh," he whispered as she continued to cry more and more. She eventually calmed down a bit and pulled back to look up at Kai as her arms were still wrapped around his chest. "I'm sorry." She whispered as her tear stained face began to form a smile. "You must think I'm weird."  
  
"That was the last thing I was thinking." He said smiling down at her.  
  
"It's just," she began as they were both wrapped around each other. "After my father died, I've been afraid to love anyone. No one I even remotely liked was even close to me loving them."  
  
Kai paused and then whispered as he beamed down at her. "No one?"  
  
Key looked up at him. They sat there staring at each other. Their faces were only inches away moving closer and closer together as their eyes began to close.  
  
Their lips touched as they held each other in an embrace. Kai felt as if he reputation was no where to be found. All he could think about was the beautiful girl he was so close too at this very second.  
  
Their kiss deepened for a moment and then they slowly broke apart only to stare into each other's eyes.  
  
"I love you, Key." Kai whispered.  
  
"I love you too, Kai." Key replied.  
  
Their kiss rejoined as the lamp began to dim and the rain outside began to disappear and all that was left was the moonlight shining down through the glow of the waterfall.  
  
~*~  
  
MUAHAHA!!! That was for you CARO!!!  
  
Ok. I know you people are going to have a lot of criticism so just bare with me. It was my first real fluff fic.  
  
And I just have to say to Myrmyr: Did you find it disturbing that the guys were like dancing tango in our Civics class today?  
  
*shudders*  
  
Hope ya liked! R+R!  
  
o(^-^)o  
  
Thanx a many!  
  
Kitsune Ria 


	7. Questions

Disclaimer: (SLC) ARGH!!! I slept over my friend Keltics house last night and she made me paint my nails. **shudders** For those who know me, you know that I don't like putting any kind of make-up on. And in this case, that includes nail polish!!! And it's PINK too! **faints while tries to rub off fingers**  
  
For those who might be wondering, I'm not a tomboy I just LOATHE the fact of spoofing people up! (Especially girls. Except in the case of myrmyr's fanfiction where we make over Kuwabara. That was awesome)  
  
Ok, now I know this is annoying but I'm going to respond to reviews BEFORE the story not after cause I'll most likely forget.  
  
And I know most of you people have been talking to me about this. I know a lot of the characters are ooc but I really don't care. I don't like it the way it is. That's why I had to spice things up a bit! ^-^  
  
Chapter 6 Review Replies  
  
Messenger of Light: Yeah. I do arch. It's fun. ^-^ Maybe dancing in Civics class is something your friends would do, but, well, let's just say the people who were dancing weren't my friends. My friends think anime guys are hot! **drool**hiieeii**drools more**  
  
Monigue: Power to the people y'all! ^-^ Peace out!  
  
Myrmyr: No Myrmyr! It's not the end! And yeah it was really creepy. But it was funny when Hollie said that he refers to light government as fluff. We both started laughing and no one knew why. Hehehe.  
  
Mariana Nimeneth: You have Touya plushies?!?!?! Where are Hiei plushies? MUST HAVE!!!  
  
Princess Meru: I'm glad you didn't flame this time. GIVE ME HELL! SEE IF I CARE!!! ^-^  
  
Naitheas: Well, that did sound a little too much like a flame. Sorry, but it did. And Look, I'm sorry but the story is only like ten or eleven chapters long so I had to fit it in somewhere! Plus, note the title of the website fan FICTION dot net. Not fan FACT dot net. Oh well, flame my story all you want. I don't give a sh*t.  
  
Ok!!! On with the story!  
  
~*~  
  
It sounded like birds were chirping in his head. Millions of them. All flying around the waterfall.  
  
But as Kai's eyes slowly began to flutter open, he noticed it wasn't his head, it was real.  
  
The Birds outside were chirping like mad as he sat there against the cold stone wall of the cave. As he slowly began to remember where he was, he noticed that he couldn't get up. Something was on his lap.  
  
As he looked down, he breathed in quickly as if to gasp, but in a quiet manner. He saw Key resting her head on his chest as her body sat curled up in his lap. ((AN: I'M NOT THAT SICK YOU FREAKS!!! Of course they didn't! Don't even think it! They're fourteen for crying out loud! Geez))  
  
'She must have fallen asleep.' He thought as he remembered the night before. He slowly began to smile as he wrapped his arms slowly around her back as she began to wake.  
  
Her eyes fluttered open as well. "Hn." Key muttered as she looked around to figure out where she was. When she realized exactly where she was, she blushed.  
  
"Good morning," Kai whispered to Key who was still snuggled close to him.  
  
"Good morning," she replied as her blush faded and she curled up closer to his chest.  
  
As much as Kai never wanted to leave, it had just hit him that he never went back to Tyson's the night before. 'Shit.' He thought. 'Tyson's gonna kill me.'  
  
He slowly began to sit up straight as if he were leaving. But then he looked down at Key who had quickly fallen back asleep on his lap, and stopped. 'I can't leave her.' He thought as he snuggled back together with Key and kissed her lightly on top of her head. .  
  
'I'll just stay a bit longer.'  
  
* * *  
  
"Tyson-!"  
  
"Don't 'Tyson' me!" Tyson shouted as he threw Rei on the other side of the dojo wall. "I know you know where Kai is!" He shouted as he walked over to Rei who was now on the ground. "Now TELL ME!!"  
  
"Tyson, don't!" Max said from the corner of the room. "I'm pissed off too but that's no reason to beat up Rei!"  
  
"I swear!" Rei lied. "I have no idea where he is!" he began to get up as he struggled to get to his feet.  
  
"I know you're lying!" Tyson said as his fist was held behind his head, ready to kill anything in its path while holding Rei's collar.  
  
"Put him down," said a familiar voice that had just stepped into the room. "Now."  
  
Tyson released his grip on Rei only to stomp over to the voice of Kai standing in the threshold. "Where were you?" Tyson said in a cold yet angry tone.  
  
"Why does it matt-"  
  
"BECAUSE I SAID SO!" Tyson screamed as he was maybe inches away from Kai as his fists began to twitch and shake.  
  
"Fine." Kai said. Rei looked up at Kai wide eyed. 'Is he really going to tell Tyson about Key?' Rei thought. 'I hope not.'  
  
Kai stepped back from Tyson a bit so he could get some room. "I was training."  
  
"I KNEW IT!!!" Tyson screamed. "You've been training Beyblading without your team haven't you? That's why you're so much better than before!"  
  
"Now hold on," Kai said as he put his hand in front of his face as if to signal stop. "Don't always assume things, Tyson."  
  
Tyson looked puzzled as he waited for Kai to explain himself.  
  
"I've been training archery. Not Beyblade."  
  
At first there was a silence. But then Tyson and Max tried as hard as they could but their lungs couldn't hold their laughter. They both burst out laughing at the same time.  
  
Kai's eyes narrowed. "What exactly is so funny?"  
  
"It's just," Tyson began still chuckling. "Well, isn't that kind of a sissy sport?" ((AN: When I first started Archery everyone made fun of me because of that reason. That it was a 'sissy' sport. Well, to those people, F U!! HA!!))  
  
They both continued to laugh as Kai turned and walked out of the dojo room quietly. Kai stopped as he heard footsteps limping up behind him.  
  
He turned around and saw Rei limping as he clutched the side of the wall.  
  
"Well," He began. "They laugh when you tell them archery, what about when you tell them love?"  
  
Kai paused for a moment. Thinking and then turning his back to Rei before speaking.  
  
"Most will hear, Most will see. Most will fear, And most will be. But most will love, And most will deny,"  
  
"Deny what?" Rei said as he stood straight up in the air trying to endure the pain.  
  
"That most can't see," Kai began to walk to his room. "The love they hide."  
  
* * *  
  
'It's been a week.' Key thought to herself as she sat on the porch of her restaurant. She had a dirty apron on and her hands and fingernails were covered in flour and dough. But that was the last thing she was worried about. 'Kai hasn't been to practice in a week. I'm worried.'  
  
She repositioned herself so she would be more comfortable on the hard wood. 'The last time I saw him was at the waterfall when I told him about my father.' Her eyes began to close. "Kai," she whispered to herself.  
  
Suddenly, she heard a voice she knew she had heard before but she couldn't put her finger on it. "Hey," the voice said from the dirt road.  
  
She opened her eyes only to be looking into the face of Rei.  
  
"I know you!" She exclaimed. "You're one of Tyson's friends, right?"  
  
"Yeah. Unfortunately." They both chuckled.  
  
Key gasped for a moment. "Wait," she looked up at him. "Do you know Kai?"  
  
He closed his eyes and smiled. "That's what I came here to talk to you about."  
  
She blinked. She didn't know quite how to respond. "Would you like to come inside?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
They both walked into Higashi Kaze and Rei sat down at the counter. The restaurant was empty. Key walked into the back and came out a few minutes later with a small cup of green tea. She handed the cup to Rei and began to speak.  
  
"So," She started. "Go ahead. Talk."  
  
Rei looked up at her and sighed. "Well,"  
  
"Well what?"  
  
"You might know this deep down or this might be obvious to you but Kai is deeply in love with you." Rei said calmly as if it were nothing.  
  
Key's eyes widened though she had guessed that deep down she was still in a bit of a shock. "Ok."  
  
"But, Tyson has made it hard for him to admit it."  
  
"How so?" Key said now very interested.  
  
"He's been pressuring Kai into practicing with them instead of archery."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Beats me. But Tyson and Max nearly killed themselves laughing when they found out the Kai was practicing archery."  
  
"Why would they do that?"  
  
"They thought it was a 'sissy' sport."  
  
"Ah." Key said as she leaned backward. "So Kai is feeling peer pressure basically?"  
  
"It seems that way."  
  
"But wait a minute! You know about us! Why is it that you know and Tyson and Max don't?"  
  
Rei chuckled as he took a sip of tea. "Well, Kai feels that Tyson and max wouldn't understand about you two as much as I do."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Every since he met you, I've been hearing him saying your name in his sleep." Rei said smiling.  
  
Key blushed. "Oh. Ok then." She sighed. "But why would they not understand about the two of us? What did I do?"  
  
"I don't think it's you so much as it is any girl."  
  
"Oh. Right."  
  
Rei paused as he looked into her sad face. "I was kind of hoping, well,"  
  
"What?"  
  
Rei paused. "I was kind of hoping that you would have a message for Kai. Just to let him know that you're still here and everything."  
  
"Tell him,"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Key paused as she closed her eyes and walked through the kitchen door in the back of the restaurant while she spoke.  
  
"Tell him to meet me at the Taki. And he doesn't have to bring anything. I just need to talk."  
  
~*~  
  
HAHAHAHA!!! Cliffe!!! Oh well. You people can wait. You see, I have so much homework to do that I can't write unless it's on a weekend so just be patient my dear posy!  
  
Hehehe.  
  
I have a posy!  
  
O_O  
  
I wish.  
  
Kitsune Ria 


	8. Afraid of the Truth

Disclaimer: (SLC) AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!! At the moment, I LOATHE princess-Meru!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hiei! Get over here!  
  
Hiei: Yes?  
  
Ria: Kill Meru!  
  
Hiei: Why should I?  
  
Ria: BECAUSE I SAID SO!!!  
  
Hiei: OK! Okay! (Goes off and comes back with dead Meru)  
  
Ria: YAY! Thank you, Hiei.  
  
Hiei: No problem. I think.  
  
MUAHAHAHAHAHA!! The fact is, she copies all her drawings, doesn't know the first thing about anime, and thinks that she's the greatest person in the world at writing and everything else she only remotely tries AND SUCKS AT!!!!  
  
AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!! ::fire blazes in the backround as steam comes out of her ears::  
  
Sorry, I had a little anger to get out.  
  
This month has not been the greatest.  
  
I'm doing fine in Civics but Science,  
  
::shudders:: KILL THE PRE-LABS!!!!!!!!! They must DIE!  
  
The Carbon paper actually bit my friend Jilly.  
  
Freaky.  
  
I know.  
  
And then Meru has gotten BEYOND my nerves!  
  
And the NAMO (nobles anime/manga organization) at our school is not doing well.  
  
Grrrrrrrrrrr.  
  
Oh well!  
  
To get out my anger, I need to write light government! I mean fluff!  
  
So here ya go!  
  
::twitches::  
  
~*~  
  
'The water's calm this morning,' Key thought to herself as the tips of her toes trickled the water in front of her. 'The waterfall isn't flowing as much as usual.'  
  
She stood up on the bank as the back of her shorts were covered in wet sand and her hair was tossled about her face because of the calm east wind blowing by.  
  
She examined the water as she sat back down on the sandy bank at the taki spot waiting for Kai.  
  
'I hope he comes.'  
  
* * *  
  
"No!"  
  
"Why not? You know you want to!"  
  
"NO!"  
  
"Awe, C'mon Kai! She's waiting there right now! Just go and talk to her!"  
  
Kai paused as he argued with Rei in their bedroom. Kai plopped himself down on the futon and said nothing.  
  
Rei groaned. "KAI!"  
  
Kai turned around slightly so he could see Rei's shadow on the tatami.  
  
"Look," Rei started. "Key loves you just as much as you love her! I know it! I can see it in the both of you!"  
  
Kai was a bit shocked by what Rei was shouting but he wasn't afraid. After all, Tyson and Max were over at Kenny's house so it wasn't like it mattered. But still, Rei shouted on.  
  
"Just go." He said quietly in almost a whisper. "She loves you. And from what you've told me, well," he paused.  
  
"Spit it out." Kai said now interested in what Rei had to say.  
  
"From what you've told me, it sounds a lot like you're scared to love her back."  
  
Kai's eyes widened.  
  
But Rei kept talking.  
  
"After what her father did to her, you're almost scared to love her. Afraid of what you might do."  
  
Kai slammed his fist into the tatami causing it to snap a bit. Rei stood quiet for a couple of seconds before realizing he needed to talk again.  
  
"You know it's true Kai. You know it with all your heart. Don't leave her. Just g-"  
  
But Rei was cut off by what he saw was hitting the tatami over and over again near where Kai was sitting. He gasped.  
  
They were tears.  
  
Rei stood there for a moment gazing at his tough, cold friend crying for the first time in his life. His knees gave out and knelt down where he was standing. Kai then began to chuckle as he spoke softly.  
  
"You know," he said wiping the tears. "People say crying is good for you."  
  
He turned to look at Rei, his face tear stained.  
  
"But you know what?" He began as he laughed.  
  
"What?" Rei whispered back.  
  
Kai's head lowered as more tears fell and his smirk disappeared.  
  
"It sucks."  
  
Rei wanted to laugh, but was cut short as Kai slowly got up and walked out of the room and down the hall. Rei quickly got up and followed, tripping in the process.  
  
"Hey!" He shouted over down the hall. "Where are you going?"  
  
Kai turned around to speak before walking out the front gate.  
  
"Where do you think?"  
  
* * *  
  
Key watched as the clouds began to fade as the night time darkness filled the sky.  
  
'Why do I bother.'  
  
She closed her eyes and slowly got up as her back was stiff from sitting down for six hours waiting for Kai. She rose up and turned around only to be looked directly in the face of the one person she wanted to see.  
  
"K-k-kai!" she stuttered.  
  
Kai's crimson eyes looked directly into Key's lavender pools. Kai's arm slowly moved forward to grab her hand lightly and hold her hand out in front of him.  
  
"I'm not afraid."  
  
Key didn't understand at first what that meant but eventually realized it.  
  
"I'm not afraid either."  
  
Key looked at his tear stained face and spoke.  
  
"Have you been crying?"  
  
He said nothing. He just looked into her eyes and smiled.  
  
"Kai?" she whispered.  
  
"Yes?" he whispered back.  
  
She blushed slightly. "I spoke with Rei."  
  
"And I also."  
  
She giggled. "You're lucky to have such a great friend."  
  
Kai sighed and looked up at the now dark blue night sky.  
  
"Yeah. I guess I am."  
  
They both smiled a bit before getting lost in the others eyes once more.  
  
"Key?" Kai whispered.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do you hate me for not telling you the truth?"  
  
"About what?"  
  
Kai looked at the ground. "About being afraid to tell Tyson about us."  
  
Key looked down as well but not for the same reason. "No."  
  
"Really?"  
  
Key looked up at Kai before leaning into his lips. "Really."  
  
* * *  
  
Kai got up the next day around noon.  
  
He was incredibly tired. ((NOT IN THAT SENSE!!! DON'T EVEN THINK IT!!!))  
  
He yawned as he rose from the bed and got dressed. He dragged himself down to the kitchen where Rei was cooking lunch.  
  
"Wow!" Rei shouted as he smiled. "Did you have fun last night with Key?"  
  
Kai blushed as his eyes widened. "I'm going to kill you as soon as you stop making that food smell so good."  
  
"Oh! Well then, I guess I've got a couple more years to go cause you're gonna love this stuff!"  
  
"Fine," he said blankly as he sat down. "Wait a minute!" Kai whispered. "Couldn't Tyson hear you say that?"  
  
"Calm down." Rei said trying to cook as he spoke. "He and Max went biking. They're not here."  
  
Kai sighed of relief. "Good."  
  
Their conversation was drowned out by the telephone ringing. "I'll get it." Kai said.  
  
He slowly got up from the table and walked down the hall to the phone. Rei began to hum as Kai picked up the phone off the cradle.  
  
"Kinomiya residence."  
  
"Kai? Is that you?"  
  
Kai stopped to stare into thin air.  
  
"Key?"  
  
"Yeah. It's me."  
  
Kai was glad to talk to her but the sound of her voice said otherwise.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
She began to cry. "I need you to come down to Mr. Dickenson's office right away."  
  
"Why?" Kai was beginning to get worried.  
  
"I don't have much time on the phone. Just do it and I'll explain everything when you get here."  
  
"Ok! I'm coming! Hold on!"  
  
"And Kai?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
She paused. "I love you."  
  
He smiled. "I love you too."  
  
He hung up the phone and ran down the hall and out the gate with such speed,  
  
Rei never knew he left.  
  
~*~  
  
Muahahahaa! What will happen? WHAT WILL HAPPEN?!??!?!?!?  
  
Ok. You don't have to worry. I'm posting another one this weekend so they should come around the same time.  
  
Oh! And I might write a sequel to this but after I write another story I'm thinking of right now.  
  
It should be good.  
  
NE way, thanx a many!  
  
Kitsune Ria  
  
o(^-^)o 


	9. Problems and Solutions

Disclaimer: (SLC) OK! I'm still a bit LOATHING toward Princess-Meru but that's ok! ::twitches:: ^-^* really! I'm fine!  
  
Heh heh heh!  
  
Heh.  
  
Ok.  
  
I'm bored.  
  
Let's write now!  
  
~*~  
  
"You honestly have the worst bike in the history of the world." Max said to Tyson as they walked, panting through the gate as they dragged their bikes.  
  
"I know! Stop rubbing it in!" Tyson groaned.  
  
Max laughed. "Hey! We're home!"  
  
A few seconds passed before Rei came outside. "Hey!" he shouted back.  
  
"Where's Kai?" Tyson said.  
  
He had been suspicious ever since Kai was forced to stay and train with them.  
  
"Oh! Um, he's sleeping!" Rei lied.  
  
"Still? Geez, what did he do last night?"  
  
Rei walked away worried about where Kai went but at the same time trying with every ounce of his body not to laugh.  
  
* * *  
  
"KEY!" He shouted as he slammed open the door to Mr. Dickenson's office.  
  
Mr. D was sitting behind his desk going through papers and books as Key knelt down in front of the desk as if she was really trying to pay attention to what he was doing.  
  
She turned around, her hair now in a pony tail, and saw Kai.  
  
"Kai!" She screamed before rushing across the room to hug him tight.  
  
"What's wrong?" Kai said as he broke her off him slightly.  
  
Her eyes filled with tears as she sank to the floor. Kai sunk down with her.  
  
"Oh, Kai," She said crying.  
  
He realized she wasn't going to talk a whole lot so he looked up at Mr. D, still holding Key close to his chest.  
  
"What is going on here?"  
  
Mr. D removed his glasses and rose from his desk.  
  
"We have a lot to talk about Kai."  
  
"Oh really? Well, could you start then?"  
  
"Of course." He took off his glasses and wiped them. "I'm sure you know already that Kikiraki is an orphan right?"  
  
Kai was startled to hear her real name but nodded.  
  
"Well, when she ran away from home all those years back, she was filed as a missing person."  
  
"So?" he said a bit irritated.  
  
"So, apparently, her home town realized she was here and, well,"  
  
"SPIT IT OUT!!!" Kai screamed now really pissed off.  
  
"They want her back."  
  
Kai took the information in slowly as he looked down to the sobbing girl wrapped tight around his chest.  
  
He began to whisper in an angry manner.  
  
"Is there any way to prevent this?"  
  
"There is one way." He sighed. "But I'm not sure anyone is willing to take it."  
  
"Well tell me!" Kai shouted hugging Key tightly.  
  
"Well, this rule is pretty new in the city and I think it's great but it's also difficult. You see, if the person has no custody to go to if this situation arises, then that person gets to decide where they would like to stay."  
  
"Sounds great but how does this have to do with Key?"  
  
"Well, she can't stay by herself. She has to stay with someone else in the city."  
  
'She could stay with me!' Kai thought. 'But I'm staying with Tyson. That means she'd have to stay there also, at least until she gets her own place. I don't think Tyson would approve without an answer. I can't tell him!' He looked down at Key. 'But what about Key?'  
  
He closed his eyes as he held her tight.  
  
'What am I thinking. I care more about Key than I do some stupid reputation.'  
  
"I'll do it."  
  
Mr. D was startled. "You? But you're stayi-"  
  
"I know. I'll convince him. Trust me."  
  
Mr. D sighed. "Alright. But you have to sign a document on whatever date they give you and be there sharp or else Key is gone."  
  
The last three words hit Kai harder than any punch or blow he had ever taken. "I know."  
  
"Alright then. Let me call them to see when you can sign." Mr. D said picking up the phone.  
  
Kai looked down at Key as she wiped her tears away.  
  
"Did you hear that?" Kai said. "You're going to be staying with me."  
  
Key smiled and then laughed with joy. "Oh Kai." She said as she snuggled a bit more to him.  
  
"Alright, thank you. Goodbye now." Mr. D said as he hung up the phone. "Ok, you are scheduled to meet on the 5th of November."  
  
Kai's eye's widened in horror. 'That's the day of our beyblading tournament!' He thought.  
  
He looked down at Key who was still in his lap smiling.  
  
Mr. D cocked his head. "Are you all right my boy?" He looked at Kai.  
  
Kai shot up at him. "Fine."  
  
Mr. D went over to his desk as Kai's thoughts flowed through his head like a river.  
  
'Shit.'  
  
~*~  
  
Ok. I know it's really, really, really short, but don't sue me. Just wait and find out!  
  
Muahahaha! ^-^  
  
Thanx a many!  
  
Kitsune Ria  
  
o(^-^)o 


	10. Tick, Tock

Disclaimer: (SLC) Ok, While I try with every ounce of my body to finish this story before Monday, Whatever is left of it is going toward Archery and Shinto practice. And the tiny shreds that follow afterward are loathing Meru.  
  
But on a happier note,  
  
This story gets better!  
  
^-^  
  
I'm not sure if this is the last chapter or not,  
  
If it is, there's going to be an epilogue after this.  
  
So no worries!  
  
Oh yeah. And just to speed things up a bit, especially at the end, '=' means scene (setting) change.  
  
^-^  
  
~*~  
  
*~'~'~'~'5th of November'~'~'~'~*  
  
"Kai? Kai! Wake up!" Rei said as he shook his roommate to try and wake him up. "KAI!"  
  
Kai jumped out of his futon at the last shout of his name. "What?" He said yawning.  
  
Rei rolled his eyes. "Today's the big day!"  
  
Kai looked puzzled.  
  
"The day of the Beyblading tournament stupid!" Rei said with a smile on his face.  
  
Kai froze.  
  
The day he had been dreading.  
  
The day that would change his life.  
  
Rei got up slowly and walked over to the threshold. "I'll let you get dressed and then we need to get going!"  
  
Kai hadn't yet told Rei about the thing with Key. When he asked about the phone call, Kai said it was a false alarm. That nothing was wrong.  
  
But in reality,  
  
That was the EXACT opposite of what was going on.  
  
Things were terrible.  
  
Kai got up and walked over to his stack of clothes that he didn't put in his dresser. He reached down and found a BBA T-shirt and jeans. He took off his shirt and shorts that he usually slept in and put on his clothes.  
  
He walked out the door and down the hallway of the dojo to the bathroom. He closed the door and turned on the water faucet. He tested the water to make sure it was cold and splashed his face so he would wake up a bit.  
  
'What am I going to do?' He thought.  
  
'I can't go through with this. If I go to the tournament, my team will be fine but then I'll miss the meeting and no one will sign the document and Key will have to go back home.'  
  
He grabbed a towel and wiped his face.  
  
'But on the other hand, if I go to the signing, Key won't have to leave! But then, I'll need to tell Tyson about us, and I'll be letting my whole team down.'  
  
He began to run down the hall.  
  
'What in Gods name am I going to do!?'  
  
Suddenly, as he turned the corner, he bumped into Rei; literally.  
  
"Woah!" Rei said as he fell back ward. "Sorry! I didn't mean t-"  
  
He stared directly at Kai.  
  
"Yo, dude, what's wrong?" Rei said still sitting on the floor.  
  
Kai was now facing the ceiling as he lay on his back.  
  
Kai sighed and rose to face Rei. He positioned himself in a sitting manner and then looked around so no one would hear or see them talking.  
  
Kai breathed in deep,  
  
And spilled.  
  
* * *  
  
'Gate 18 B now positioning Team Blade Breakers and Team Kitsune in the final match between Kai Hiwatari and Ayumi Koto.'  
  
Tyson, Max, Kenny, Rei and Kai stood there reading the monitor in the locker room.  
  
"Alright! That's us!" Tyson shouted. "Let's go, team!"  
  
They all slowly walked out of the room one by one.  
  
Kenny first,  
  
Then Kai,  
  
Then Max,  
  
But just as Tyson was about to step outside of the locker room, Rei put his arm across the threshold making Tyson unable to leave the room. Tyson looked shocked.  
  
"Yo, what's wrong dude?"  
  
Rei didn't say anything. He just stood there with his eyes closed.  
  
Tyson began to speak again. "Hey! Let me through!"  
  
"No." Rei said quietly as his arm removed and he moved in front of the door himself.  
  
"No?!" Tyson said stepping one foot back. "What do you mean, 'no'?"  
  
"I mean, I'm not letting you through this door until we talk."  
  
Tyson was frustrated but knew better than to fight with Rei. "Talk about what?"  
  
Rei paused as both he and Tyson sat down.  
  
"Kai."  
  
* * *  
  
Tick, tock, tick, tock.  
  
The clock kept ticking as the hour hand struck 4:00 pm.  
  
The government official rose from his seat behind a desk and began to speak to a frightened Key who sat in front of him.  
  
"I'm sorry Miss, um," He walked over to his desk to grab a slip of paper. "Miss, uh, Ki-ki-ra-ki?"  
  
"Y-yes. That's right." She sat straight up. The room was small. It had a desk, a metal filing cabinet, two chairs, one behind the desk and one in front, a small light that hung from the ceiling, and a garbage can that was over flowing with crunched up papers in the corner of the room.  
  
The man spoke again, "I'm sorry, but if you future guardian does not show up within exactly fifteen minutes, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to send you back. Do you understand?"  
  
Key gulped. "Yes."  
  
She put her head down as the man walked out of the room.  
  
'Where are you Kai?'  
  
* * *  
  
"3  
  
2  
  
1  
  
LET IT RIP!!!"  
  
The announcers' voice echoed through the stadium as the beyblades went flying into the dish.  
  
Kai's blue Dranzer stayed spinning in the middle of the bowl as Ayumi's light green one of the opponent came flying toward him.  
  
He dodged.  
  
At that moment, Rei walked in the gate.  
  
Max turned around and saw him standing there.  
  
"Rei! Where have you been?"  
  
"I was talking with Tyson."  
  
"About what?" Max said as both of them kept their eyes on the match.  
  
"Oh you know. The usual. Tips and stuff."  
  
"Oh." Max looked around. "So where is he?"  
  
Rei paused for a moment then turned to Max and smiled.  
  
"He's taking a bathroom break."  
  
They both stared at the bowl as Kenny furiously typed on his laptop.  
  
Dranzer wasn't doing so well.  
  
Kai tried with all of his might to concentrate but his head wasn't in the game. ((AN: Bet ya don't know what he's thinking about!))  
  
His Dranzer was still in the middle of the bowl. He couldn't move it.  
  
He tried to call his bit beast out.  
  
It didn't come.  
  
"Come on, Kai!" Max shouted as Rei shouted with him.  
  
"Concentrate! C'mon!"  
  
"I'm trying!" Kai shouted back.  
  
=  
  
The clock hit 4:14:06.  
  
'C'mon Kai.' Key thought.  
  
'C'mon.'  
  
=  
  
Ayumi chuckled. "It's over now Kai. GO FOXELOR!"  
  
Her Beyblade went flying toward Kai's Dranzer.  
  
It had no where to go.  
  
=  
  
4:14:39  
  
'C'mon! HURRY!'  
  
=  
  
'I can't give up!" Kai thought.  
  
=  
  
4:14:57  
  
'I don't want to go back home! I want to stay with you Kai!'  
  
=  
  
'I can't. I CAN'T!'  
  
=  
  
4:14:58  
  
Key rose from her chair causing it to topple over. "C'MON!!" She shouted.  
  
=  
  
"I CAN'T!!!"  
  
=  
  
4:14:59  
  
"KAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!"  
  
=  
  
"KEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!"  
  
~*~  
  
Wow, these apples are really good. My mom picked some good ones. ::crunches on apples:: What? Oh right!  
  
MUAHAHAHA!!! MAJOR CLIFFHANGER!!!!!!!!  
  
Hehehe  
  
You have to SUFFER!!  
  
So this isn't the last chapter.  
  
But the next one is! And then Epilogue!  
  
^-^  
  
Thanx a many!  
  
Kitsune Ria  
  
o(^-^)o 


	11. Understood!

Disclaimer: (SLC) Ok! I'm going to keep this short because I have a feeling Myrmyr is going to kill me at school on Monday if I don't finish this before next weekend.  
  
Heh heh.  
  
Ok! On with the story!  
  
Oh yeah, and I didn't mean to be so harsh on Princess-Meru. I'm just a bit POed at her right now.  
  
Plus, I like the word 'loathe'  
  
It sounds cool.  
  
^-^  
  
~*~  
  
It all happened so fast.  
  
Everything.  
  
First with Kai.  
  
=  
  
"KEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!" Kai shouted in the middle of the stadium.  
  
Everyone turned to look at him. But he didn't care anymore. He really didn't.  
  
Dranzer went flying toward Foxelor and hit it with a large smash to the ground. It flew in the air and went over Ayumi's head to land right behind her with a thump.  
  
Kai couldn't believe it.  
  
He had won.  
  
"KAI!" Rei shouted as he, Max and Kenny ran up to him and started to pat him on the back.  
  
As much as he hated that,  
  
He was glad they won.  
  
"Um, Kai?" Max said once they all stopped cheering and the announcer had made the call.  
  
Both Rei and Kai knew what was coming.  
  
He spoke again. "Why did you shout, 'key'?"  
  
Kai sighed but then smiled which caused surprise in Max.  
  
Kai spoke up as if it didn't matter anymore. "You want to know?"  
  
Max nodded.  
  
He breathed in deep and then screamed to the top of his lungs,  
  
"I LOVE KEY!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
He broke down into a fit of laughter on the ground as Max looked at Rei in a 'who is this?' look.  
  
Rei just began to laugh along with Kai as both Kenny and Max smiled friendly smiles.  
  
=  
  
Then with Key.  
  
=  
  
4:14:59  
  
"KAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!"  
  
As soon as Key had shouted Kai's name in the middle of the room, a figure of a person broke down the door and stomped through the room, passed Key, to the document on the table.  
  
He picked up the pen, and began to sign the name, 'Kai Hiwatari'.  
  
But Key gasped at the sight of the person.  
  
It wasn't Kai.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
It was Tyson.  
  
Key's knees gave out in shock. She began to cry tears of joy as she thought to herself. 'Tyson came through. He really came through. He really did.' She began to cry harder as she looked up at *Kai* with a smile on her face.  
  
Tyson began to speak to the man behind the desk.  
  
"My name is Kai Hiwatari and I'm here to take custody of Kikiraki Chimero."  
  
The man sighed as he looked at the clock. 4:16:08.  
  
"Very well. You may go now."  
  
The man got up and took the document with him out of the room and closed the door.  
  
Tyson knelt down so that he was eye level with Key.  
  
He smiled as she continued to cry.  
  
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "For not understanding."  
  
Key grabbed her sleeve with her hand and wiped her tears away. She looked at Tyson for a moment just smiling.  
  
Then they both stood up and walked out of the room slowly and quietly.  
  
* * *  
  
Kai leaned back against the locker wide-eyed.  
  
He couldn't believe it.  
  
They were all in the locker room now as Rei told the story of his 'talk' with Tyson.  
  
"So," Max started. "Where is Tyson now?"  
  
Kai perked his head down a bit to hear Rei speak.  
  
"Getting Key." Rei smiled.  
  
Kai almost fainted at that moment. The thoughts in his head were incredible.  
  
'He, he, he got Key! He really did! He came through!' "YES!!!" he shouted in the middle of the room as he began to laugh.  
  
He got up and walked across the room and hugged each of them tight. ((AN: Cheezy, I know. But hey? What do you expect?)) Then he ran out of the room and down the cold hallway to the entrance in which he waited at the bus stop for a ride back to Tyson's house.  
  
Rei, Max and Kenny soon followed.  
  
* * *  
  
Key sat on the tatami of Kai's room waiting. She continuously tapped her forefinger on her right knee. To some, it might have seemed annoying.  
  
But Key just waited.  
  
That's all she wanted to do.  
  
She wanted to see Kai.  
  
At that moment, Tyson slide the paper door to the room open with a puppy face.  
  
"There's someone here to see you," he said with a large smile.  
  
Key's eyes grew larger as she heard familiar footsteps coming toward the door.  
  
Kai stood in the threshold of the room where he had stood so many times before.  
  
But this was by far the best time.  
  
Key stood up and stared at Kai with a smile and he did the same.  
  
"Kai," She whispered.  
  
"Yes?" Tyson said joking.  
  
Kai turned to him and gave him a look of death.  
  
"OK! Ok! I'll leave!" Tyson said walking out of the door.  
  
Kai turned to face her but before he could she was already in his arms.  
  
They both fell to the floor as they held each other in a crying embrace.  
  
"Let me guess," Key said softly pulling away from Kai a bit. "You won your match?"  
  
"Lucky guess." Kai said smiling as he leaned in and kissed her.  
  
Rei watched them from afar.  
  
And did nothing but smile.  
  
~*~  
  
OK! I get it! I know it's really short! Give me a break!  
  
NE way, it's not the end. There is an epilogue that's pretty important for all you fluff fanatics! So don't put this story aside just yet.  
  
Thanx a many to everyone who reviewed or just plain took the time to read this!  
  
o(^-^)o  
  
Kitsune Ria 


	12. Epilogue

Disclaimer: (SLC) OK! Last chappie! Well, not really 'chappie' but whatever.  
  
Ok,  
  
Not going to keep you waiting!  
  
Here ya go!  
  
~*~  
  
EPILOGUE  
  
~*~  
  
Ten long years.  
  
Gone.  
  
Since that day.  
  
So much has happened.  
  
Yet so much still has to be done.  
  
All the members of the Bladebreakers still stayed in Japan.  
  
They all got separate jobs but still Beybattled together.  
  
Kenny opened a small computer software company that at the moment, it doing better than Microsoft and Windows combined. How much money? Well, let's just say Bill Gates is a hobo if you compare. ^-^ He still provides money for his parents noodle shop and that has also been successful!  
  
Max went back to America occasionally but got an apartment in Tokyo and now he's the head of the Beyblade department at a children's toy company. He met a woman named Miriam ((AN: OK! I like that pairing! SUE ME!)) and now has two children. A boy and a girl.  
  
Rei grew up to become a chef. He's now one of the top chefs in Japan and the world. He's made meals for millions of people. He owns his own line of restaurants that has made several million dollars. The name he thought was pretty unique but was dedicated to a very special person. His restaurant 'Higashi Kaze' is open 24/7. ^-^  
  
Tyson went into the Beyblading industry. ((AN: Bet you didn't see that coming!)) He took the place of Mr. Dickenson and now owns the BBA. He provides all the equipment people need to have a fair beyblade match and he tries with all his power to stop evil organizations from taking over. He met a girl named Hilary ((AN: I like that one too!)) and now has one child named Takyo. He still visits the park and Beyblading tournaments every day. ^-^  
  
And last,  
  
But with no trace of least,  
  
Kai Hiwatari and Key Chimero have been together for ten years. They are not married ((AN: I intend to change that in the following story.)) but they are deeply in love and Key has recently told Kai that she is pregnant with their child. Key sold her restaurant to Rei and now she and Kai have there own Archery school. She teaches there everyday with young children willing to learn. She learned the basics and even some tricks of Beyblade and now is the backup player for the Bladebreakers whenever they go to countries that need five players instead of four. She trains with them all and is just as tough. (Maybe even tougher!) ^-^ They both have a house that they live in together just outside of the woods. They built it themselves.  
  
* * *  
  
After a recent beyblading victory, the bladebreakers were invited to a formal banquet in which they were allowed to bring lady friends if they wished.  
  
All the guys were dressed in fancy black suits as they rode a large limo to the plaza.  
  
Miriam, Hilary and Key were all sitting next to each other talking about television shows and world issues. Kai was sitting right across from where Key was sitting.  
  
She was wearing a knee-length white dress that had a pearl embroidery around her neck. She was wearing long locking bracelets and she had her hair up in a high yet elegant pony tail. Her eyes were looking more lavender than usual.  
  
Kai couldn't take his eyes off her.  
  
It seemed impossible.  
  
When they got to the plaza everyone got out of the limo and were led to the main ball room. When they got there, Tyson and Max spotted the food table and walked over without any hesitation. ((AN: Sorry I keep popping up like this it's just I think it's funny that even at the age of 24 they still eat like pigs.)) Their wives soon followed and pulled them away to save them all from embarrassment.  
  
Most of them sat and talked for a while.  
  
Rei talked with Kenny.  
  
Max talked with Tyson.  
  
The girls all talked together.  
  
But Kai didn't talk.  
  
He just looked at Key from time to time.  
  
Just a quick glance.  
  
He looked down at his fist that was clenching something tiny.  
  
Rei finished talking with Kenny and looked down at Kai's fist.  
  
"Hey," He said. "What do have there?"  
  
Kai sighed and opened up the fist slowly so that no one would see but Rei.  
  
Rei gasped.  
  
It was a tiny black jewelry box.  
  
"You're! You're!" He shouted.  
  
"Ssshh! I don't want Key hearing!" Kai whispered in an angry tone.  
  
"Oh," Rei whispered back. "Sorry. It's just, wow!"  
  
"Yeah." Kai muttered to himself. "I know."  
  
"So," Rei said now very interested. "When?"  
  
"Soon. I'm waiting for the right time."  
  
"Ah." Rei said. "I can cause a diversion if you want?"  
  
"No," Kai said. "Fate caused me to collapse in the snow that day and fate will guide me to do this."  
  
Rei smiled a small smile. "Well, Good luck."  
  
"Thanks." Kai whispered.  
  
* * *  
  
Some time passed until most of the people in the ball room had left. One of the final songs was playing and everyone was ready to go.  
  
But Kai wasn't.  
  
He looked around and saw a balcony on the other side of the ball room.  
  
'It's perfect.' He thought.  
  
He leaned over to his right to whisper to Key. "Do you want to go over there?" He said pointing to the balcony.  
  
Key smiled. "Sure!"  
  
They both got up from the table and walked through the crowd of people hand in hand to the other side of the ball room. Kai opened the balcony doors and they both stepped out into the night air as the moon was full.  
  
The wind blew by causing Key's hair to dance.  
  
Kai couldn't wait any longer. If he was going to do it, he was going to do it now.  
  
"Um, Key?" He said.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I need to ask you something."  
  
"Ask away!"  
  
Kai took in a deep breath as Rei watched from the table. Kenny tried to get his attention but Rei wasn't listening.  
  
"You know," Kai began as he held both her hands in his. "It's been ten years since we first met."  
  
"I know that. And they've been great." Key said with a smile.  
  
"Yeah." Kai whispered as his forehead rested on hers. "But now I feel that it's time."  
  
Key was puzzled. "Time for what?"  
  
Kai closed his eyes and smiled as he got down on one knee in front of Key.  
  
Rei watched with huge interest. "C'mon, c'mon!" He whispered. Though everyone could hear him, know one knew what he was talking about.  
  
Key gasped as she realized what Kai was about to do.  
  
Kai began to speak as he pulled out the little black box from his pocket and opened it.  
  
Inside was a diamond ring that sparkled in the moon light.  
  
"Kikiraki Chimero," Kai began.  
  
A tear of joy slowly rolled down her face.  
  
"HURRY UP!!!" Rei shouted in the middle of the ball room. Now everyone was staring at him. But he was staring at the balcony.  
  
Kai looked up at Key with a few tears in his eyes.  
  
"Will you marry me?"  
  
Key broke down. She nodded continuously as she fell to the ground and hugged Kai tight.  
  
"Of course Kai!" She said sobbing in his arms.  
  
"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS!!!!!!!!" Rei shouted in the middle of the room as his chair fell over causing him to fall on the floor. But that didn't matter to him. Seeing Key nod meant only one thing and he was sure as hell happy that it was.  
  
They both held each other in a loving embrace as they knelt on the cold stone.  
  
The only sound that could be heard was the Chill Air and the East Wind colliding.  
  
~*~END~*~  
  
YAYAYAYAYYAYYAYAYYAYAY!!!! That was for you guys, FLUFF FANS!!!!  
  
WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!  
  
Ok. It's finished. I hope you people liked it! ^-^  
  
I'll be starting another fanfic soon based off of dothack.  
  
It's partially fluffy. But I'd read it anyway. Thank you all for reading this!  
  
I hope you liked it!  
  
Thanx a many!  
  
Kitsune Ria  
  
o(^-^)o 


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